The Chicago Sky have been busy on the first day WNBA players can sign contracts with their respective teams this season.
Chicago is finalizing a trade to acquire guard Rebecca Allen from the Phoenix Mercury, according to Chicago Sun-Times Sky reporter Annie Costabile. The Sky will send guard Lindsay Allen and forward Nikolina Milić to the Mercury in exchange for the Australian guard. The Windy City squad is also signing guard Kia Nurse to a 1-year contract, ESPN women's basketball reporter Alexa Philippou wrote in a Saturday article.
Allen played and started in 18 games for the Phoenix Mercury last season. The veteran guard averaged 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game for a Phoenix squad that went 19-21 and finished fourth in the Western Conference standings. The Sky will be Allen's fourth WNBA squad in four years after she played in seven seasons with the New York Liberty.
Nurse, a former teammate of Allen's on the Liberty, averaged 7.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game for the Los Angeles Sparks during their 2024 campaign. The Canadian guard earned an All-Star selection in 2019, one season before New York selected guard Sabrina Ionescu with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft.
Both Nurse and Allen can provide some much-needed scoring and shooting help to a Sky squad in desperate need of a boost on offense. Chicago ranked near the bottom of the league in points and assists per game last year. They took ninth place in the WNBA with a 3-point percentage of 32.3% on a league-low 14.9 long-range attempts per game.
The Sky have already taken a few steps towards strengthening their offense before the 2025 WNBA season.
Chicago officially signed guard Courtney Vandersloot, a 12-year veteran and all-time passing leader for Chicago, on Saturday. Forward Michaela Onyenwere is expected to re-sign with the Sky on a 1-year contract after being extended a qualifying offer in January, according to Bleacher Report Women’s Basketball Analyst Rachel Galligan. Should the Sky choose to retain their No. 3 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, they will have the ability to select another talented guard or trade down for more options.