Like clockwork, the Chicago Sky somehow managed to do it again.
If a roster full of WNBA All-Stars and future Hall of Famers fleeing the third-largest market as soon as they could over the last 12 years wasn’t clear enough, the Sky have shown once again to lack a clear direction as a franchise in the WNBA. Ending the Angel Reese era prematurely, before ever giving it the air to extend its wings fully, is the latest flash in the pan proving so.
Prime’s Taylor Rooks was first with the news that the Sky and Dream agreed on a deal to send the two-time All-Star to Atlanta. In Reese’s two seasons in Chicago, she averaged 14.1 points, 12.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and two stocks.
It was a rocky start for Reese with the Sky as she began her professional career. Still, her future in Chicago was all but over after the organization suspended the star forward for what it deemed “statements detrimental to the team.”
“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want,” Reese told the Chicago Tribune in September. “I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me,” she said, later revealing she wouldn’t be “settling for the same shit we did this year.”
“We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason,” Reese said.
Reese only said what anyone with decent enough vision had said all season long. It wasn’t hard to see that the Sky’s front office had consistent failures in luring star free agents, and the infamous lack of investment never helped matters. However, the team held Reese out of the first half against the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 7, but she didn’t play in the second or the last two games of the season.
With a new practice facility finally on the horizon and talented prospects set to join the WNBA over the next several drafts, the organization had a chance to fully embrace the rebuild it’s been avoiding since the departures of key players like Candace Parker, Azura Stevens, and Kahleah Copper from the 2021 championship team.
After selecting Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 overall pick and Reese at No. 7 in the 2024 draft, questions loomed on the organization’s process in drafting two post players who operate in the same area without a foundation rooted in spacing and three-point shooting to support them. Fringe rotation players and a pat on the back were the best the front office could do, giving way to a 23-61 record in Reese’s time in a Sky uniform, which follows the decades-long trend of poor management and a glaring hole where sound investment should be for a professional sports team. The worst-kept secret in the WNBA is that Chicago is a revolving door for players moving on to bigger and better things in their careers. Reese is only the latest to etch her name on the scroll.
“Take a look at the all-time roster for the franchise, and you’ll see some of the greatest names in women’s basketball history, most of whom demanded a trade to play for teams with better resources and facilities, top-tier leadership, and the chance to contend,” sports journalist Sarah Spain told Axios.
She’s not wrong. From Sylvia Fowles to Elena Delle Donne to Kahleah Copper, the Sky’s history of fumbling some of the biggest names in the sport is a tale as old as time. The only issue is that time is forever, and the franchise’s front office and its decision-making are battling for the lead.
Reese is not only one of the most talented players in the WNBA, but she’s a global brand. If she’s available for a trade, it was Sky general manager Jeff Paglioca’s job to get the best return possible to lay the foundation for the rebuild. As expected, he did the exact opposite. Instead of a haul for one of the brightest stars in the league, Paglioca received 2027 and 2028 first-round picks from the Dream, which will likely be low-end selections because the draft lottery is based on the team’s previous two seasons. It also doesn’t help that Atlanta is solidifying its pursuit of a WNBA championship after adding Reese to a roster that will likely return three All-Stars in Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray, and a versatile Brionna Jones next to the former LSU Tiger in Atlanta’s front court.
As far as assets, that was all coming back for a future Hall of Famer. Keep in mind that two second-round picks were traded away to the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire to ensure neither picked a player from Sky’s roster in a move that appeared to be a vote of confidence in the team as is.
That was before ESPN’s Alexa Philipou and Kendra Andrews reported that Reese didn’t submit a trade request and that the Sky “worked closely with her team to find a new home”, adding that “there was no contention between the two parties.” Essentially, the Sky traded Reese to a market of her choosing and abandoned the key goal of negotiating: getting the best deal possible. With a talent like Reese on the market, Chicago could’ve easily received more lucrative offers. Instead, a future Hall of Famer was rushed out of the door before the 2026 season started and will join a team with clear intentions of lifting a title in the air.
Chicago is also expected to have an entirely new roster this season. If that’s the case, giving up picks for a team scheduled to be dismantled seems unwise; however, it is just the latest chapter in the franchise’s long history of poor asset management decisions. Last offseason, the Sky sent the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft to the Washington Mystics for two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins. In a draft that included guards who could have elevated the potential of a Reese-Cardoso duo, like Sonia Citron and Saniya Rivers, a decision was made to skip common sense in roster-building. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Sky gave the Mystics the right to swap 2027 first-rounders.
Reese was the lone bright spot on one of the worst rosters in the WNBA during her Sky tenure. Without her, that much is guaranteed to continue, if not managing to sink lower in the league’s basement. With a full rebuild expected this offseason, Cardoso and others could likely be on the trading block, moving the Sky towards one of the worst records in the league this season. If Chicago manages to land the top pick in the 2027 draft in the lottery, Washington reserves the choice to jump the line and take it, giving the Sky whatever it gets in return. Generational talents like JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo will enter the draft next season, and Chicago hampered its chances of landing either one.
For the second consecutive draft, the Sky could’ve had a top selection (No. 2) in the 2026 draft next Monday, but, as one would assume by now, that was traded away as well to the Minnesota Lynx before last year’s draft. Chicago acquired the No. 11 pick in that draft and selected Hailey Van Lith, a project at the guard spot that never looked comfortable consistently enough on the floor. Paglioca also managed to give up additional draft capital, including a 2026 pick swap that ultimately became the No. 2 pick, giving yet another championship contender a chance to draft a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Prospects like Awa Fam, Olivia Miles, and Azzi Fudd are missing out on the trainwreck, and it’s the best for the launch point of their professional careers.
The root of the issue has always been ownership and the lack of support, whether financial or managerial. For years, Sky players have practiced at a community center, where the public has too much access to professional athletes in a time when security should be paramount. We’ve heard it from Candace Parker and others who’ve played for the franchise. Last week, Australian star Bec Allen became the latest player to voice their displeasure publicly, calling her time with the team “a little bit miserable” and how it was uncomfortable to virtually exist in the locker room with strangers next to her.
Chicago may have been surprised when James Wade left the team during the 2023 season to take an assistant spot with the Toronto Raptors. But the franchise failed itself when it brought in Hall of Famer and first-time head coach Teresa Weatherspoon to lead the new era with strings attached on how to do so.
Not to mention the organization’s blatant effort in throwing her under the bus on the way out in a report, stating that the team had doubts in its ability to attract high-level free agents with Weatherspoon leading it. Never mind the fact that she had one season rife with injuries under her belt at the time, rendering the pot shot useless in the eyes of the public. Since Weatherspoon’s departure, the Sky managed to produce even less on the court after former Las Vegas Aces star assistant Tyler Marsh took over.
A former director of skill development before being promoted to general manager with no experience at this level, Pagliocca has looked the part in Chicago. Trading Reese on the first day of free agency will certainly play a factor in whether the team retains the services of a well-known star, which was already in doubt before moving her. As the leader of the Sky’s front office, bridges have been burned, and Pagliocca will soon learn, but professional women’s basketball in one of the largest markets in the country will continue to suffer in the process