WNBA Insider Notes Chennedy Carter’s Potential Return to Sky Comes With Restrictions

During an appearance on The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show back in November, Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh was noncommittal about the future of standout guard Chennedy Carter (who is a restricted free agent this offseason) with the franchise.

When Marsh was asked about whether he sees Carter as a big part of what he’s doing in the future with Chicago, Marsh said, “In regards to Chennedy, she’s a great player, she was a huge catalyst to what last year’s team was able to do and accomplish. And obviously, she’s slated to be a free agent this year.

“So once those talks open up, we’ll take a look at it. But the focus thus far has been on the players who we know are under contract this coming year, and that’s where the communication has been thus far,” he continued.

While it’s fair that Marsh’s focus remains on the players he knows will be rostered this upcoming season, many still found this answer intriguing.

More layers were added to this narrative when WNBA insider and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile discussed Carter’s potential return to Chicago in a January 4 article.

“Pagliocca’s first order of business will be extending qualifying offers to restricted free agents Dana Evans, Chennedy Carter and Michaela Onyenwere,” Costabile wrote.

“A qualifying offer comes with an automatic one-year contract and the right to match any offer extended by another team. While Carter’s stats demonstrated her importance on a failing roster, the Sky’s decision to re-sign her isn’t that simple.

“The Sky need assurances that she will be reliable on and off the court and will buy into a system that, as coach Tyler Marsh said, will not hinge on one player’s success,” she added.

“Expect Pagliocca to extend qualifying offers to all three players, but Evans and Carter returning to the Sky is less probable than Onyenwere coming back.”

While Costabile didn’t state this directly, it sounds like there may be more concerns about Carter’s fit off the court rather than her performance on it.

It will be fascinating to see where Carter ends up next season, regardless of if it’s in Chicago.