Michaela Onyenwere re-signs on a 1-year contract – Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Sky are building for the future in free agency as they prepare for another pivotal WNBA draft in April.

After missing the playoffs with a 13-27 record last season, the Sky are starting fresh in 2025 with first-year coach Tyler Marsh. The Sky aren’t bringing back former leading scorer Chennedy Carter, opening up room in their backcourt for veteran depth.

The Sky hold the No. 3 and No. 10 picks in the first round of this year’s draft, which will be headlined by Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles — if both stars choose to forego their final year of NCAA eligibility. Those two picks will inform every decision the Sky make in free agency as they work to balance their roster around their frontcourt duo of Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.

Here’s the latest on the team’s free-agency moves.

Feb. 2: Michaela Onyenwere re-signs on a 1-year contract

Onyenwere joined the Sky last season as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the No. 3 pick in 2024, which was used to draft Kamilla Cardoso.

After barely playing early in the season, the 6-foot Onyenwere stepped into the starting lineup after the Sky traded Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun at the Olympic break, molding herself into a hybrid guard position to accommodate a lack of backcourt depth. She averaged 6.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 2024.

Onyenwere is one of two players to whom the Sky extended a qualifying offer in restricted free agency this year. They also made a qualifying offer to point guard Dana Evans, the Gary native who has been with the team since 2021. Evans has yet to sign and remains a potential trade asset.

Feb. 1: Sky just got bigger — and a whole lot better from behind the arc

The Sky made two crucial moves on the first official day of WNBA free agency to reinforce their backcourt, signing Kia Nurse out of free agency and trading guard Lindsay Allen to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for wing Rebecca Allen. These moves immediately followed the signing of former star Courtney Vandersloot to return to the point guard role.

With these acquisitions, the Sky are developing a clear identity for their backcourt: a lengthy and defensive-minded group with an ability to spread the floor via shooting, giving bigs Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso space to work in the paint and low post.

Without any outside threat, opposing defenses felt comfortable packing the paint to gum up the offense around Reese and Cardoso, who were limited as a result. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Sky were one of the smallest teams in the league at the perimeter last season, fielding guards like Lindsay Allen (5-foot-8), Chennedy Carter (5-foot-9) and Dana Evans (5-foot-6).

Adding Nurse and Rebecca Allen should alleviate these issues. Nurse is a 6-foot guard and a career 32.4% shooter from 3-point range despite seeing a slight dip in production during an off year with the Los Angeles Sparks last season. Allen is a 6-foot-2 wing who averaged 35.7% behind the arc with the Sun in 2024. Both players are also consistent rebounders, an important trait as a higher volume of 3-point attempts will likely elicit longer rebounds that backcourt players will need to track down.

Jan. 29: Courtney Vandersloot returns to Sky

Two years after departing her longtime team in free agency, two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot is returning to the franchise for the 2025 season.

Vandersloot, who turns 36 next month, confirmed the news herself shortly thereafter in her typical understated style, updating her social media profiles to include two words: “Chicago Sky.”

The No. 3 pick in the 2011 WNBA draft, Vandersloot left Chicago after the 2022 season as a four-time All-Star and team captain whose patience and tenacity paved the way for the franchise’s first championship in 2021.

The 5-foot-8 point guard holds the league’s single-game record with 18 assists, set in 2020, and is second to Sue Bird in WNBA history with 2,850 career assists. Vandersloot owns six of the league’s seven highest assist averages, including a record 10 per game in 2020.

Originally Published: February 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM CST