Angel Reese wants to win. That’s no secret. The Sky’s front office certainly feels the pressure of having to build a winning team around her or risk losing her—either after her rookie contract is up or earlier, if she demands a trade. She wouldn’t be the first Sky star to leave the franchise on bad terms.
Chicago made the first move in what will be a busy April. They traded a pair of 2026 second-round picks to the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo to ensure that neither team would pick one of their unprotected players in the expansion draft. Each existing team can only protect five players. Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, Ajša Sivka, and Ariel Atkins took up four of the Sky’s spots. That leaves most of Hailey Van Lith, Maddy Westbeld, Aicha Coulibaly, and Sevgi Uzun unprotected.
There are three reasons why the Sky would make this trade. One: They are so attached to the trio of Van Lith, Westbeld, and Coulibaly that they don’t want to risk losing any of them. Two: They want to package them with their lottery pick to get a veteran star in a sign-and-trade situation. Three: They want to put together a trade package to move up in the draft to get Olivia Miles—although it’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which the Lynx or Storm would give up the opportunity to add a top-three pick.
The second path would be the quickest way to turn the Sky into a more competitive team, but executing it will be tricky considering that most of the veteran stars in the league are unrestricted free agents and many won’t even be on the move.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Sky traded a lottery pick
The Sky’s front office seems desperate to avoid a lengthy rebuild. As soon as Reese and Cardoso showed their talent in the 2024 season, Jeff Pagliocca sent the team on a win-now route. He traded the third overall pick in last year’s draft, which turned into All-Star Sonia Citron, to the Mystics for Ariel Atkins. He also signed veterans Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse, and Rebecca Allen in free agency.
We all know how that turned out. The Sky still finished tied for the worst record in the league, and Reese grew increasingly frustrated with the team.
So, this offseason, the organization has a choice to make: double down on the win-now approach or take a step back and slow things down. The Sky could get great talent with the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft. Kiki Rice, for example, could be a long-term building block next to Reese and Cardoso. Drafting her would improve the team’s presence and future, but it may not be enough to turn the Sky into a playoff team right away.