The Chicago Sky’s 2024 season saw several key players miss time with injuries, and the team, unsurprisingly, did not make the playoffs. Chicago was rewarded with the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, giving the team an opportunity to add another talented young player next to Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
Relying on the draft alone to improve the roster won’t be enough for the Sky, however. They have plenty of issues to address and work out during the offseason. Having someone like Reese, who put together an All-Star-level rookie season, means that the pressure to build a winning team around her increases with every season.
The Sky may not be ready to compete in 2025 quite yet, but they still have to put the right pieces around Reese to create an environment in which she can thrive and continue to develop.
4. Re-sign Chennedy Carter
Much of the offseason conversation around the Sky has focused on Chennedy Carter, as she is the biggest name on their list of free agents. Carter revived her career in Chicago during the 2024 season, thriving under head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, and leading the team in scoring. She was the Sky’s main source of offense on the perimeter, especially once Marina Mabrey was traded to the Connecticut Sun.
Recently, Carter has been continuing her tear in China, likely increasing her free agency value. Fortunately for the Sky, Carter is a restricted free agent, and they will have the chance to match any offer made to her.
Carter’s lack of a 3-point shot next to Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso is a bit of a problem, but if the Sky let Carter leave in free agency, it will be difficult to replace her production, and the team’s offense will take a serious hit.
3. Re-sign Michaela Onyenwere
During the 2024 season, the Sky had only three players who shot over 35 percent from three on at least two attempts per game: Rachel Banham, Dana Evans, and Michaela Onyenwere. Unsurprisingly, the Sky were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league.
The Sky ranked ninth in 3-point percentage, converting 32.3 percent of their shots from behind the arc, but were last in 3-point attempts per game by a significant margin. Three-point shooting is the main thing the Sky need to improve ahead of the 2025 season. Surrounding Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso with capable floor-spacers is the best way to make the two-big lineup work.
Onyenwere will enter restricted free agency in February, and re-signing her should be an easy decision to make for the Sky. She needs to increase her volume, but the Sky do not want to lose one of the few capable 3-point shooters they had on the roster last season, especially considering that Dana Evans likely won’t be back.
2. Add more 3-point shooters
Re-signing Michaela Onyenwere alone won’t be enough to fix the Sky’s issues from 3. They need to land as many 3-point shooters in free agency or via trades as they possibly can, preferably including a stretch big to give them the opportunity to mix up their style of play in the frontcourt.
The Sky will likely try to land a good 3-point shooter in the draft as well but it can take a while for rookies to get used to the WNBA and their shot sometimes takes a hit early on. So, the Sky should also try to find some more experienced, veteran shooters to put around their young bigs. Julie Allemand, who played with the Sky in 2022, is currently shooting the three well, playing for Fenerbahce. She is currently under contract with the Sparks but on an unprotected deal.
To put it very simply: the Chicago Sky should monitor pretty much every player who can shoot the three well and might be available this offseason.
1. Trade for Jewell Loyd
Jewell Loyd wants out of Seattle. Several teams will likely try to land her, but considering fit and team needs, Chicago might be the team that makes the most sense to trade for her. Loyd is an experienced veteran who knows what it takes to win and could help guide the Sky’s young players.
She is also a scoring force, averaging 19.7 points over 37 games in the 2024 season while having one of the worst 3-point shooting seasons of her career. Loyd is capable of shooting the three well—from 2020 and 2023 she averaged between 35 and 39 percent each year—which would give the Sky a floor-spacing guard to pair with Chennedy Carter.
Besides 3-point shooting, the Sky struggled to move the ball last season, relying heavily on isolations. Only three players averaged more than three assists per game: Marina Mabrey, who was traded to the Connecticut Sun during the season, Lindsay Allen, and Chennedy Carter. Loyd’s 3.6 assists per game would have ranked second on the Sky’s 2024 roster after Mabrey’s departure.
Loyd could be the perfect option to give the Sky 3-point shooting, additional scoring and playmaking, and veteran leadership. At 31, Loyd does not necessarily fit the team’s timeline, but she could help the team while they develop Reese and Cardoso and whoever they end up drafting in 2025. Plus, Loyd went to high school in Illinois, so joining the Sky would be a kind of homecoming for her, and the opportunity to play with one of the best young bigs in the game might pique her interest.