Chicago Sky second-year forward Angel Reese appears to be frustrated with the state of the franchise, telling the Chicago Tribune that she is “not settling for the same s— we did this year.”
Reese, who made a second consecutive All-Star team this summer, said she has been, and will continue to be, vocal about what she thinks the franchise needs to improve on going forward, as well as about what she wants to see changed. Reese, who has played in 29 of Chicago’s 39 games this year, told the Tribune she wants the Sky to form a clear identity next season and that she would like to see the franchise add guards who can drive and shoot 3-pointers efficiently. She sees point guard as another area of need.
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“I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me,” Reese said. “But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”
The Sky were aggressive via free agency and trades last offseason. They acquired wing Rebecca Allen via a trade with the Connecticut Sun and guard Ariel Atkins in a deal with the Washington Mystics. Guards Courtney Vandersloot and Kia Nurse also signed with the team after playing last season with the New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks, respectively.
Vandersloot tore her ACL just seven games into the season. Allen is averaging only 5.2 points per game, though she’s playing just 18.5 minutes per contest, her lowest total since 2019. Nurse and Atkins have performed relatively on par with how they did last season; Nurse is averaging 7.0 points on 33.3 percent 3-point shooting per game, while Atkins, a two-time All-Star, is averaging 13.5 points on 36.8 percent 3-point shooting in her first year in Chicago.
“The priority is being able to convince (free agents) that this is an organization that is going in the right direction,” Reese said. “Honestly, it would be a leap of faith for a great, great player to come here and show that this is something that they want to be a part of, and we can bring that championship mentality.”
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The Sky opened the season 2-6, with general manager Jeff Pagliocca telling the Chicago Sun-Times that he was “very disappointed” with the team’s start. Reese opened the year with single-digit scoring games in three of her first seven contests. She has scored fewer than 10 points just once since, and has 22 double-doubles entering Wednesday night’s game against the Connecticut Sun.
The Sky were eliminated from playoff contention in mid-August. They have missed the playoffs for consecutive seasons for the first time since 2017-18 and have yet to win a playoff game since 2022.
In addition to hoping for a roster overhaul, Reese said she is hoping that first-year coach Tyler Marsh coaches players harder going forward. She also wants expanded office spaces and improved training facilities. The Sky is building a dedicated WNBA performance center, with the 40,000-square-foot, $38 million facility set to be completed by 2026, but their current infrastructure and recent broad turnover — they are on their third permanent head coach in as many seasons — has appeared to hurt their appeal.
Chicago was voted as the league’s worst-run organization in The Athletic’s anonymous player poll this summer.
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“They don’t have a facility. It’s just a lot of the other stuff with them,” one player quoted in the poll told The Athletic.
Added Reese: “We need great players, and I don’t know what that will attract that. Maybe the practice facility will attract that, we’ll see.”
Tipoff for Wednesday’s game is set for 8 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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