After the Portland Fire lost their debut-season matchup to the Indiana Fever 90-73 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Portland fell to 2-3 and immediately moved to tighten the roster. The Fire waived Haley Jones, Kamiah Smalls, and Sug Sutton—moves that le
Portland’s third game of the season ended the way its debut season has been starting to feel: fast, unforgiving, and now — suddenly — messy behind the scenes.
The Portland Fire lost 90-73 to the Indiana Fever on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The defeat dropped Portland to 2-3, and the timing of what came next made it harder to brush off. The Fever had been handicapped without Caitlin Clark, sidelined by a back injury, yet Portland couldn’t capitalize.
Within the hours after the loss, the front office decided the roster needed a reset. Haley Jones, Kamiah Smalls, and Sug Sutton were waived. At the same time, Portland signed Frieda Buhner and Holly Winterburn to standard contracts and activated Teja Oblak.
It was a sharp turn from what Portland coach Alex Sarama had promised before the season. Sarama stressed that he would be upfront with his players, telling Yahoo!. Sports’ Brenna Greene: “For me, it starts with complete transparency with the players and having frequent and very regular conversations. I’m a huge believer that the best environments are player-led.”.
For fans, the roster decisions didn’t just come off as tough. They came off as confusing — especially when the players waived had appeared this early in the season.
Online, reactions landed quickly and harshly. One fan wrote, “Waving Sug Sutton is crazy. She’s been hooping.” Another said they could only make sense of it as a strategic gamble, adding, “Only explanation I have for this is that we weren’t tanking well enough.”
A third supporter focused on the immediate on-court reality. pointing to how Sutton and Jones had factored into the Fire’s early games. “I’m not mad at the other names because they were on thin ice anyway. ” the fan wrote. before asking: “Sug Sutton actually has been solid. So I’m really interested in the thought process here. Are they planning on bringing someone back over from overseas, or is there another move coming?”.
Others argued the cuts didn’t match what they were seeing on the court. One comment said, “That’s actually so stupid. Sug and Haley are so much better than Buhner and Winter (check the stats. y’all).” Another noted the timing and the fact pattern exactly as it happened on the floor: “Well. damn. Sutton started last night. Smalls had a start and Haley Jones played in every game. Interested to see the next moves.”.
The numbers fed the frustration. In three games, Sutton averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 assists. Jones posted 5.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in five games. Smalls logged 7.5 points and 3.0 assists in two appearances.
And while the Fire moved on immediately, the questions didn’t. Sutton, in particular, is widely expected to draw attention from another team.
Portland’s next test comes quickly. The Fire will face the Toronto Tempo on Saturday — the kind of next-step game that matters even more when roster decisions are still being debated in real time.
Portland Fire Indiana Fever Gainbridge Fieldhouse Caitlin Clark injury Alex Sarama Haley Jones Kamiah Smalls Sug Sutton Frieda Buhner Holly Winterburn Teja Oblak Toronto Tempo WNBA roster cuts