When Taylor Rooks first reported that the Chicago Sky were trading Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, WNBA fans speculated what the package looked like. Surely, Te-Hina Paopao would be on her way to the Windy City, plus picks, right? Wrong.
Chicago didn't receive any young players in the trade (not unless you count who the future picks will turn into), just Atlanta's 2027 and 2028 first-round picks. Along with Reese, the Dream also received the rights to swap second-round picks with the Sky in 2028.
So, all that Chicago got for Reese, who will turn 24 in exactly a month, was two future first-round picks that shouldn't be all that valuable, given Atlanta's status, especially now with the All-Star in the mix.
Here we all are, yet again, wondering what the Sky's front office is thinking.
There is no way that Angel Reese's trade value is only 2 late 1sts...
— Mick (@DBGyt_) April 6, 2026
Why was the entire league not trying to trade for her??? https://t.co/gvyi7tLMJu
Trading Angel Reese and the pick that became Sonia Citron in back to back years. These are choices.
— Tony East (@TonyREast) April 6, 2026
The Chicago Sky trading Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream, and Angel posting 11 seconds after the news broke in a Dream jersey, is all you need to know about how she feels right now 😂
— Trysta Krick 🔥 (@Trysta_Krick) April 6, 2026
Seriously, the Chicago Sky are a joke of a franchise. Unbelievably toxic so happy she got out
This Angel Reese trade has me shaking my head. Good for her to be traded to an organization that will support her growth and provide an opportunity to win.
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) April 6, 2026
On the flip side, the Chicago Sky look like more and more of a laughing stock by the day after a move like this.
Yes, the writing was on the wall that Reese's time in Chicago was coming to an end, one way or another, but ESPN's Alexa Philippou reported that she didn't request a trade. It's not like she had been trying to force her way out and put pressure on the Sky to get a deal done ASAP.
Sources told me and @kendra__andrews Reese did not request a trade but the Sky worked closely with her team to find her a new home and that there was no contention between the two parties
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 6, 2026
Chicago is expected to be revamping its roster and to look completely different this season
WNBA fans can't believe Sky let Angel Reese go for that price
Less than two years ago, Chicago traded up in the 2024 draft to select Reese with the No. 7 pick, which originally belonged to Minnesota. In return, the Lynx received Sika Koné, the No. 8 pick in 2024, a 2025 second-round pick, and rights to swap first-round picks with the Sky in 2026 (that's the No. 2 selection in next Monday's draft).
You can say that the 2026 first-round pick Minnesota received alone will be worth more than what Chicago will do with its two first-rounders from Atlanta, considering it could turn into Olivia Miles or Azzi Fudd.
The Sky are incapable of learning from their past mistakes, and the Reese trade is proof of that. Letting the two-time All-Star go to a team with championship aspirations without getting more than it did will be yet another move that comes back to haunt the organization.
At least Kamilla Cardoso is still in town, and based on the trade, she is the face of the franchise and the player that Chicago will build around. The problem with that, though, is that fans don't have much reason to believe the Sky will be able to help her develop her game and build a successful roster around her.
Let's see what Jeff Pagliocca can do this week in free agency. And, no, that's not meant to be a threat.