When analyzing the 2017 Chicago Sky, no one looks at the roster assembled by new head coach and general manager Amber Stocks and wonders about the individual talent.
There are multiple answers for the Sky at every position, even after trading franchise icon Elena Delle Donne this winter to the Washington Mystics after the 2013 lottery pick threatened to sit out the season if not dealt, and former head coach and general manager Pokey Chatman heading to Indiana.
The question is how the players all fit, and more than one WNBA talent evaluator questioned whether such a configuration is even possible. Fortunately, the fact that Stocks is simultaneously filling both roles means she’s been planning for her own roster for some time, and the hope in Chicago is that the plan she’s been keeping quiet throughout the preseason will prove that there’s life after the greatest player in franchise history has left town.
The biggest question, quite literally, is at the five. The Sky stole Imani Boyette with the tenth pick in the 2016 draft, and she quickly translated her collegiate skills—rim protection, rebounding and efficient scoring—to the pro game. Boyette finished third in the league in block percentage, while her field goal, offensive rebounding and defensive rebounding percentages all ranked in the top ten league-wide.
But instead of considering that position solved for the long-term, the centerpiece of the Delle Donne trade was Stefanie Dolson, whose best position is also the five. Dolson does some things Boyette doesn’t, with greater shooting range at this point in her career, and greater proficiency passing the ball. But neither one is anything other than a center, and the decision to play Boyette at the four is a curious one, since Boyette’s rim protection skills are unparalleled by virtually anyone else. Now, instead of teams having to scheme to draw her away from the basket, the early plan appears to be for the Sky to do it to themselves.
The Sky then compounded this surplus by using the second overall pick on Alaina Coates, a classic five out of South Carolina. Coates will miss most of 2017, but the larger point is that they had few more important assets this winter than the lottery pick, also acquired for Delle Donne, and spent it on the position where they’d already double-booked.
For her part, Stocks doesn’t see it that way.
“Every player brings something different to the table,” Stocks told The Summitt. “So while on paper they may all look similar, every one of them has different strengths. Offensively and defensively, they have different leadership strengths as well. So their talents complement each other. If I have two people, maybe with the same stat line or in the same position, having that depth brings really good energy to the team, and confidence, knowing that across the board, positions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, we are deep, and legitimate contenders to contend in this league.”
There are knock-on effects of this depth, though. For now, Boyette at the four and Dolson at the five pushes Jessica Breland, one of the true underrated players in the WNBA, to either a backup role or an oversized three. The 6’3 Breland is—stop me if you’ve heard this—an elite rim protector and defensive rebounder.
Breland will be therefore pushing Tamera Young, another rugged defensive contributor at the three or four for minutes at the remaining wing spot. This creates fewer opportunities for players like Kahleah Copper, an impressive young scoring wing who can defend and is probably best-suited at the three, or the recently-signed Shayla Cooper, a 6’2 forward out of Ohio State who appears to overlap with much of what Breland and Young do as well.
As for the backcourt, well, the two guard will be Cappie Pondexter, a known quantity, whose efficiency has faded as she moves deeper into her 30s, but every bit as capable of getting a tough shot in traffic as when she entered the league. Also at the two will be Allie Quigley, whose quick release and devastating range will keep her in the league for as long as she wants to play.
But neither Pondexter nor Quigley excel at the defensive end, and they’ll have to take a leadership role on guarding the better perimeter players for any Sky opponents unless the team’s young point guards grow up quickly.
Courtney Vandersloot, of course, is the starting point guard when she is in a Sky uniform. But she is also a recently-naturalized Hungarian, and will be playing for Hungary this summer in the European championships. That opened the door for Jamierra Faulkner, whose stats on a tempo-free basis compared well to the league’s best point guards, but she is expected to miss the season with a torn ACL.
That leaves Tori Jankoska, the team’s other first round pick in the 2017 draft, and Makayla Epps, the team’s third round pick. Jankoska could surprise—she did a bit of everything at Michigan State, with an off-the-charts basketball IQ and underrated defensive game. Epps, meanwhile, was more of a combo guard than true floor leader with Kentucky. But they’ll both have to do plenty on on-the-job training.
In Stocks, the Sky have a coach with a flawless pedigree. She coached on staffs with Muffet McGraw and Pat Summitt in college, and just helped Brian Agler win a championship in Los Angeles (with, it should be noted, a roster many thought might not fit together properly entering 2016).
“This is a hard league to play in,” Stocks said. “And equipping ourselves with the right tools, we’re just trying to stay in contention.”
What the Sky won’t lack is interesting, interchangeable tools. A 2017 spent figuring out whether they are the right tools for the franchise going forward will be time well spent.