The Sky’s front office made it clear that it didn’t want to go through a lengthy rebuild and find young players to develop alongside Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Otherwise, General Manager Jeff Pagliocca wouldn’t have traded the third overall pick in this year’s draft for Ariel Atkins and chased veterans in free agency.
That win-now approach didn’t work out. Courtney Vandersloot suffered a season-ending ACL injury just seven games into the season, and the Sky have the second-worst record in the league.
All of that was enough to make this upcoming offseason a critical one for the Sky—a chance to rectify mistakes and chase free agents to fill some of the obvious holes still on the roster. Angel Reese’s latest comments increased that pressure on an already important offseason. Now, the Sky also have to navigate discord among the players and the potential that Reese will want to leave.
A recent interview caused some serious late-season drama in Chicago
The Chicago Tribune recently published an article with comments from Angel Reese that weren’t well-received by the Sky. Reese talked about her wishes for the offseason, saying that the Sky had to get “great players” in the offseason and that she would have to consider moving on if the organization couldn’t put a winning team around her. She was also concerned about the team’s point guard situation, considering that 36-year-old Vandersloot just suffered a serious injury, Hailey Van Lith didn’t see regular minutes, and Rachel Banham isn’t a traditional point guard.
Most of Reese’s teammates weren’t happy with what she said, even though the 23-year-old publicly apologized to her teammates. Vandersloot sent a blunt message, saying, “Contrary to what people say or think, my age is actually not a factor. I am coming back.”
Courtney Vandersloot says she intends to return to the Chicago Sky next season.
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) September 6, 2025
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Reese was also suspended for the first half of the Sky’s next game against the Las Vegas Aces for “statements detrimental to the team.”
The Sky won’t finish the season on a positive note
With only three games left in the season, the Sky will finish the year with a bad vibe in the locker room. Not having great team chemistry going into an offseason in which the Sky are hoping to re-sign key players, like Ariel Atkins, Michaela Onyenwere, and Rachel Banham, could be detrimental.
Particularly Atkins would be a big loss. Trading the pick that brought All-Star Sonia Citron to Washington only to have a losing record and watch the player that pick was moved for walk away for nothing after just one season, would be a bad look. Losing Reese would be even worse. She is the team’s sole All-Star and the player the team’s future was supposed to revolve around.