The Chicago Sky Have Made Themselves Irrelevant Once Again
Despite the seemingly never-ending torment that Bulls fans have experienced under Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley (which, coincidentally, just ended), the Chicago Sky might outrank them as the most disappointing, incompetent, insert-your-adjective basketball franchise in the city after trading two-time All-Star Angel Reese to Atlanta this week for two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028.
It's not like there were zero reasons at all why trading Reese had merits as an idea if you're sitting in the Sky front office today. She's a dynamic defensive playmaker and rebounder, but even with an efficiency bump from year 1 to year 2, her offensive game is fairly one-dimensional, and the pairing of her and Kamilla Cardoso at the 4 and 5 gave the Sky very little floor spacing and made it hard for any opponent to respect them from three.
The Sky made 486 threes in the two seasons Angel Reese was in town. That's the second-smallest total in the league over those two years, ahead of only the Golden State Valkyries, who joined the WNBA after Reese's rookie year and still only sit 59 3PM behind Chicago over that span. Those are also the two worst three-point shooting seasons (32.3% in '24, 33.0% in '25) the Sky have had since 2015.
The basketball fit wasn’t all. Tensions between Reese and the front office had already come to a head at the end of last year, when she was suspended for "statements detrimental to the team" after telling the Chicago Tribune that the team needed to "get great players" or else she'd consider her options.
But the decision was made on Monday—the front office chose Cardoso over Reese, saying the move helped the Sky "achieve roster balance" and that it was a "great opportunity" for both parties.
Aside from how frustrating giving up on a player that was supposed to be the face of your franchise after two years is, the transaction represents a frustratingly inconsistent attitude from Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca, who gave up a 2026 second-rounder and downgraded another one to protect Chicago’s roster from Toronto and Portland's expansion draft in an supposed effort to help this group maintain some sort of continuity.
Now, with Reese gone, the very idea of continuity for the Sky as a franchise is out the window.
It's still to be said (or rather determined among Sky fans) whether this week’s reporting from Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile on the irreparability of Reese and the franchise’s rift is based on a new development in their relationship since she joined the team in 2024, or whether it's just a line that the franchise would rather fans hear than "we botched the draft, didn’t realize our top picks wouldn’t fit together, and just fumbled the face of our franchise.”
What isn't up for debate, however, is that the realization that Reese and Cardoso's playing styles weren't suitable long-term should've happened in the days leading up to the draft, not two years after you spend two top-seven picks in the same draft on them.
That's an incredible mistake from this front office's staff, and one they’re gonna pay for. Not only do you lose Angel’s star power at the ticket gate, but you’re staring down a rebuild that could keep fans away for even longer.
Chicago has a history of not being able to keep star players around, especially in the WNBA (see: Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles). Add that up with Rebecca Allen’s recent comments about the “little bit miserable” facilities in Chicago and the fact that the Sky only have four players currently rostered, and Pagliocca has his work cut out for him during what is already set to be his most important offseason as Sky GM after being hired in October 2023.
The Sky’s new Bedford Park facilities look nice, but it might take more than that to draw free agents in after this display of ineptitude from the front office. From a personnel, culture, and experience standpoint, if a long rebuild is ahead, I’d be pressed to find a player or Sky fan who thinks Pagliocca is the man for that job (myself included).
As for Reese's future, she's gonna be part of a pretty stacked defensive lineup for the Dream. Depending on whether or not Atlanta re-signs players like Brittney Griner, we could see Reese play some fun WNBA playoff basketball for the first time. How exciting for the real hoops fans among us!
A.Z., 4/7/26
