The repercussions of two risky trades still haunt the Chicago Sky
By Elaine Blum
The Chicago Sky were never going to win the 2024 WNBA draft lottery. Even if they had gotten the number one pick, the Dallas Wings would have had the right to swap picks with the Sky. Chicago is not in a bad position with the third-overall pick and a chance to add another high pick to a roster that already features Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.
And yet, with a player like Paige Bueckers on the line, the lottery was a harsh reminder of the ill-advised trade that put the Chicago Sky in this position. Ahead of the 2023 season James Wade, who was the team’s head coach and general manager at the time, decided to trade for Marina Mabrey.
The Sky gave up two first-round picks to Dallas (one in 2023 and one in 2024) and the right to swap first-round picks in 2025 as well as the draft rights to Leonie Fiebich. Fiebich excelled in her rookie season with the New York Liberty, broke into the starting lineup, and won a championship. The pick swap is the reason the Sky never had a chance to draft Paige Bueckers, who would have been a great fit next to Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.
Marina Mabrey played well in Chicago, but her presence did not lead to much playoff success, and the Sky eventually traded her to the Connecticut Sun halfway through the 2024 season so she would have a chance to play for a more competitive team. That trade cost the Sky one of their few capable 3-point shooters and was just generally not a great deal for them.
By now, it is fair to say that the Mabrey trade backfired for the Sky, but it is not the only risky trade that still haunts the franchise.
The Sky could find themselves back in the same position next year
Ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Sky knew that they had to get high-end talent. So, they traded Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury for the third-overall pick, which turned into Kamilla Cardoso, and made a deal with the Minnesota Lynx to get the seventh pick in the draft and, with it, Angel Reese.
That deal included giving Minnesota a 2026 first-round pick swap. The idea was likely that the Sky would be able to build a competitive roster around Reese and Cardoso and not give Minnesota a lottery pick. That is not guaranteed, though. The organization does not even know if Chennedy Carter will be back next season or where some much-needed 3-point shooting will come from. Dana Evans will almost certainly find a new team this offseason.
The Sky still have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to roster building, and Reese and Cardoso are still incredibly young. Depending on how other teams’ offseasons go and how healthy everyone is, the Sky may end up right back where they were this year: not in the playoff picture but with another team waiting to take their lottery pick away.
Chicago already sent a star to Phoenix and gave New York the ultimate role player to round out their championship roster. They do not want to give a competitive Minnesota Lynx team a lottery pick as well.