The Chicago Sky suspended Angel Reese one game "for comments made detrimental to the team" last September.
The Chicago Sky suspended Angel Reese one game "for comments made detrimental to the team" last September. A few days earlier, Reese had opened up in an interview for The Chicago Tribune about her frustrations with the Sky.
“I’m not settling for the same [expletive] we did this year,” Reese said, in part.
“We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
Seven months later, the Sky shipped off a great player in a move detrimental to the franchise. On Monday, Taylor Rooks broke the news that the Sky and Atlanta Dream agreed on a trade that will send Reese to Atlanta. Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile reported the full terms of the trade: Atlanta receives Reese and a right to a second-round pick swap in 2028, while the Sky receive the Dream's 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick.
Atlanta is already feeling the rewards of aggressively pursuing one of the WNBA's brightest young stars, the self-identified "ATL Barbie." Yahoo! Sports relayed that the Dream's average home ticket price has increased from $173 to $255.
Reese's No. 5 Dream jersey sold out within hours of the trade. It's a no-brainer for a relatively young WNBA franchise to get over the hump. Since their inaugural season in 2008, the Dream have reached and lost in the WNBA Finals three times (2010, '11, '13).
Atlanta has lost in the first round of the playoffs the past three years. But why would Chicago do this? The answer is two-fold: Reese never fit in Chicago, and the Sky have consistently failed to build around or retain generational star power in recent years.
The Chicago Sky drafted Reese, a national champion and global superstar from LSU, with the seventh overall pick in April 2024. Chicago had also selected South Carolina star center Kamilla Cardoso, fresh off a national championship at South Carolina, at No. 3 overall. The prevailing reaction was that the Sky had just lucked into their dominant frontcourt for the next decade.
Instead, Cardoso and Reese displayed individual promise, but they struggled to play off of each other, and the Sky could never put it together. Both were named to the 2024 WNBA All-Rookie team, while Reese was named an All-Star and led the league in rebounds. Chicago finished Reese's rookie year at 13-27, and first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon was fired.
Reese publicly expressed her dismay about Weatherspoon's exit with a lengthy X post (formerly Twitter) that read, in part, "I’m heartbroken. I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me."
Last season, Reese improved across the board statistically: 14.7 points per game, a league-best 12.6 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 1.5 steals per game. But under first-year head coach Tyler Marsh, it was the same story for the Sky: a 10-34 record and more questions than answers. As evidenced by her Chicago Tribune interview, Reese wanted answers.
She wanted better, and she wanted to win. The Sky's front office responded predictably. Reese joins Hall of Fame center Sylvia Fowles, two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, and 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper as stars traded by Chicago.
Chicago has been a revolving door of franchise-altering players that altered other franchises instead. Fowles was traded to the Minnesota Lynx in July 2015. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in February 2017 — a deal that landed Copper in Chicago, where she and soon-to-be Hall of Famer Candace Parker helped propel the Sky to their first championship in franchise history in 2021.
Parker left Chicago during the 2023 free agency period to sign with the Las Vegas Aces, the modern dynasty, and Copper was traded to Phoenix in February 2024. After her trade, Copper said, "
This is not what I expected." She shared that she had told the Sky about "wanting to compete" and was concerned about Chicago's handling of free agency. Sound familiar? "
This trade is designed to achieve roster balance and represents a great opportunity for all parties." Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in an official statement. He added, ”
Angel has achieved many record-breaking milestones in her first two years in the WNBA and has been a competitive force for the Sky. We are thankful for her many important contributions to this league and this game, and we know she will continue to have a big impact on the court and beyond. We wish Angel all the best in her next chapter."
WNBA free agency is underway this week, so the Sky have an opportunity to break the cycle and bring a new face of the franchise to Chicago. But they already had one — on a rookie deal, no less. USA Today columnist Nancy Armour pointed the finger at Sky owner Michael Alter and connected the timing of Reese's trade to the WNBA and WNBPA's new collective bargaining agreement. "
Alter has long run the Chicago Sky on a shoestring, unable or unwilling to provide his players with resources appropriate for a professional franchise," Armour wrote. "
Now he’s dealt Angel Reese, the Sky’s biggest star and a marketing goldmine, for the equivalent of pocket change and bubble gum." She continued, "
Connect the dots: the Sky’s entire payroll is going to balloon under the new collective bargaining agreement, with minimum salaries going from less than $70,000 to $270,0
The Dream will. And assuming Atlanta can retain All-Star guard Rhyne Howard, All-Star guard Allisha Gray, and all-time great center Brittney Griner, Reese could pay the Dream back by becoming the final piece to bringing a WNBA title to Atlanta.
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