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The Chicago Sky are an up and coming young team. With new head coach Tyler Marsh, the Sky will be looking to have a playoff run season for 2025. As said, the Sky are a young team that will play through Angel Reese and Kamilia Cardoso, both players had extraordinary rookie years. With the team heading into a new direction under another new head coach, it will be quite clear that the Sky will play through their bigs, which is why it is important for the Sky to have depth in places they did not have from the 2024 season. The Sky have a few players who are free agents, while some are more important to extend, and other players not worth bringing back.
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The Sky are another young roster that have quality veterans that must be protected for the upcoming expansion draft. Already taking up two spots will be Angel Reese and Kamilia Cardoso, next would most logically be Elizabeth Williams, a veteran center-forward who got injured in the beginning of the 2024 season but has upside as a veteran to continue to mentor Kamilia Cardoso and Angel Reese. It is important to note that Tyler Marsh has already stated that Reese and Cardoso are the “cornerstones” for Chicago, so keeping a veteran presence to continue that development will be key. It also helps that last month, the Sky extended Williams through the 2025 season.
Next would be guards as the Chicago Sky can’t afford to lose Chennedy Carter unless they have a plan to make a splash in free agency, which right now, we can assume they do not. This is why it is pivotal to make sure Carter is protected before the expansion draft, but as well keeping somebody like Rachel Banham to pick up the depth in the guard room. The problem with Chicago in the 2024 season is that they relied very heavily on former player Marina Mabrey as well as Chennedy Carter when it came to guard production. Once the Sky traded away Mabrey right before the Olympic break started, the Sky lost that production in points and guard play itself. The Sky are a franchise who have lost many great players in the past and have yet to really find themselves replacements in terms of production.
The sixth player the Sky should protect is Michaela Onyenwere, which she didn’t have the best first half of the 2024 season, but after the Olympic break she was able to give Chicago points that they no had without Mabrey and production must needed for a team with not the greatest depth. The Sky have room to protect restricted free agents like Carter and Onyenwere, which is why these two make the most sense to protect. This would leave the Sky’s six protected players as:Guard – Chennedy Carter
Guard – Rachel Banham
Forward – Angel Reese
Forward – Michaela Onywenwere
Center Forward – Elizabeth Williams
Center – Kamilia Cardoso
Now, there are a few players the Sky should not extend or protect, in which one particular player is Dana Evans. Evans was a player who had her minutes cropped down by former head coach Teresa Weathershop, and if you take a look at box scores and film, it’s easy to see why. It had even come out during the middle of the season that her agent was trying to get her out of Chicago. It became quite clear that this was not a good fit, and the same can go for players like Brianna Turner or even Isabelle Harrison. Although Harrison can be a solid bench player, the Sky can only protect six players when it comes to the upcoming expansion draft.
The Chicago Sky hired Tyler Marsh whose skills excel in player development, which for a young team like the Sky, the hiring makes a perfect fit for players like Angel Reese and Kamilia Cardoso. The Sky have a solid roster, however they will also need to attract free agents, which the organization itself does not have a good history with. Young players with a ton of upside will attract free agents, as well building a new training facility can add to the enthusiasm. It’s important to note that the Sky will try to rebuild through the draft as well, as they have two first round picks, however even though they are in “rebuild mode,” they can have a high ceiling for the 2025 season. Chicago Sky fans should be excited to see where this team goes next season.
