The Sky made some big changes this offseason, pivoting from a young roster built around their recent first-round picks to a more veteran-heavy squad with serious win-now aspirations. That pivot required the Sky to move on from two young fan favorites. They traded Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream and waived Hailey Van Lith to make room for Natasha Cloud.Â
Van Lith was able to secure a new gig with the Connecticut Sun and made their opening-day roster. Signing with the Sun opened the door for new opportunities for Van Lith, who has started two games already and played at least 20 minutes in four consecutive games.Â
She would not have had the same opportunities with this new-look Sky roster, which makes one thing abundantly clear: At this point in her career, Van Lith belongs on a rebuilding team, not a team that’s trying to win.Â
Van Lith needs minutes to learn and develop
Van Lith didn’t get a ton of opportunities to learn and play through mistakes in her rookie season. Even when Courtney Vandersloot went down with an ACL injury, Tyler Marsh didn’t seem to trust Van Lith to play big minutes in most games, handing Rachel Banham the point guard responsibilities instead.Â
Playing for a Sun team that’s rebuilding and vying for a 2027 lottery pick more than anything, has allowed Van Lith chances to play significant minutes and run an offense. That is exactly what a young player like her needs to learn.Â
Van Lith played her best game in the WNBA in a 101-94 loss to the Las Vegas Aces. She finished with 17 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 3-4 from three, 1 rebound, and 4 assists with just one turnover.Â
Van Lith’s role will shrink when Leila Lacan returns
Leila Lacan played for Basket Landes in the EuroLeague and the top French league this WNBA offseason. The French season ended just a few days ago (with another title for Basket Landes), which is why Lacan hasn’t suited up for the Sun yet.Â
She will join the team soon, though, and take over as the Sun’s starting point guard—a role she excelled in as soon as she joined the Sun last season. That will relegate Hailey Van Lith back to a bench role where she will compete with Charlisse Leger-Walker for backup minutes.
However, given how well she played to start the season, she shouldn’t find herself as a complete casualty of Lacan’s return. The Sun’s roster is currently at 13 players on regular contracts with Lacan’s contract temporarily suspended. Once she is set active, that number needs to be cut to 12 plus two development players again.Â
Add us as a preferred source on Google