The Chicago Sky has made huge free agency moves this week — something that began with Monday's announcement the team traded Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream and had resulted in bringing DiJonai Carrington, Rickea Jackson, Azura Stevens, Skylar Diggins, and Jacy Sheldon to the team. The transactions have surprised, delighted, and confused fans, some of whom are wondering why the team couldn't have made these kinds of changes sooner.
Many WNBA fans likely recall that Reese ended the 2025 season publicly unhappy with the Sky. She insisted the team needed to bring on more talented players, a bold claim for a second year athlete in any sport to make, and ended up offending her teammates in the process. Reese apologized for the comments, but didn't play during the end of the season (at the time, the team said she suffered from a back injury).
The news of Reese's trade to the Dream wasn't a complete surprise. The optics of keeping a player on a team when they're publicly unhappy aren't useful or good for any team (just ask the Connecticut Sun and Marina Mabrey). Reese also has a fanbase that is larger than typical for a WNBA player, many of whom have put pressure on the team via social media to offer her more, or treat her better.
Those demands have ignored the fact that the Sky, like every other team in the WNBA, was preparing for this year's free agency during Reese's second season, if not her first. As we've seen across the board, changes have impacted every team in the league, and the changes are the kind that take a lot of thought and planning. It's not yet clear if the decisions the Sky has made out will work out in the team's favor, but so far there are a few key reasons to expect the team will certainly perform better than last season (when they were at the bottom of the WNBA rankings).
The Chicago Sky could turn the corner this season
The Sky may also make a few key moves during Monday's WNBA Draft. Many expect the team to bring LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson onto the roster, and the Sky also has picks No. 18 and No. 26. Every team in the WNBA can bring two developmental players onboard without interfering with cap space, so the Sky may take advantage of the opportunity to have an expanded roster.
While it's not quite as likely the Dream and Sky will meet one another in the playoffs, never say never — whatever they're working on in Chicago is interesting, to say the least.