The Chicago Sky will hope they found a frontcourt tandem that can carry them through their rebuild during the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night. The Sky passed on Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson to take South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 overall pick. Then they used the No. 7 selection, which they had acquired from the Minnesota Lynx, on LSU forward Angel Reese.
The organization is embarking on a new era after having hired Teresa Weatherspoon as head coach and traded away 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. Chicago projects to be one of the worst teams in the league, which will give Cardoso and Reese a much less pressurized atmosphere to develop as rookies.
Here’s how the Sky’s roster looks with training camp slated to start on April 28:
Chicago Sky Depth Chart
PG: Dana Evans, Lindsay Allen
SG: Marina Mabrey, Kysre Gondrezick, Chennedy Carter
SF: Michaela Onyenwere, Diamond DeShields, Brynna Maxwell
PF: Elizabeth Willliams, Angel Reese, Taya Reimer
C: Kamilla Cardoso, Brianna Turner, Isabelle Harrison
Reese and Cardoso will both have to earn their playing time right out of the gate.
Elizabeth Williams averaged 9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks last year while earning a spot on the WNBA All-Defensive second team. Although she’s not a prolific scorer, her defense and rebounding were invaluable for the Sky, so she figures to occupy either the starting power forward or center spot despite the franchise looking more toward the future.
Chicago further bolstered its frontcourt by acquiring Brianna Turner as part of the Copper trade, with Isabelle Harrison back healthy after having missed the entire 2023 campaign following knee surgery. Turner’s value has steadily declined since garnering Defensive Player of the Year votes in 2020 and 2021, but her experience will be helpful with so many new faces on the squad.
It will be interesting to see how Weatherspoon balances the need for Cardoso and Reese to get reps with wanting to lean on her vets. The Sky don’t have full control of their 2025 first-round pick with the Dallas Wings having swap rights thanks to the Marina Mabrey trade. Chicago isn’t exactly incentivized to go all aboard with the youth movement, win-loss record be damned.
Maybe Weatherspoon sees enough from Cardoso and Reese during training camp to put them both into the starting rotation on opening night. The coaching staff also has the flexibility to ease their transition to the WNBA if they aren’t quite ready to play 25 to 30 minutes a night in the league.
