Detailing the State of the Chicago Sky After the Trade of Franchise Star Kahleah Copper

In a shocking move, the Chicago Sky have traded franchise star Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury for Brianna Turner, Michaela Onyenwere, and 4 Draft picks per Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times.

As part of the draft compensation, the Sky receive the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and Phoenix's 2026 1st round pick.

The Mercury also received the rights to Morgan Bertsch.

To say this is substantial is an understatement, the Mercury making another significant addition after signing point guard Natasha Cloud previously. The top of the WNBA has become much clearer overnight (on paper) as the Mercury have upgraded, the Sun have re-signed their core, and the Seattle Storm have emerged as the most active team in free agency at the top. The Aces are the standard. The New York Liberty have re-upped after their run to the Finals.

Where do the Chicago Sky sit?

First and foremost, losing Copper is stinging.

While it's good to recoup assets, you draft at the highest level with the hopes of getting a player like Kahleah Copper on your roster. The Sky were active in negotiating with key free agents, as previously reported, but were unable to draw any of them to Chicago.

On its face, there's nothing poor about rebuilding, but when throwing in the context of the moves made last off-season (albeit by different management), there is minimal positive light to shine upon the current situation the Sky are in.

Here's a quick snapshot of Chicago's roster:

• Marina Mabrey
• Izzy Harrison
• Diamond DeShields
• Dana Evans
• Lindsay Allen
• Elizabeth Williams
• Brianna Turner
• Michaela Onyenwere
• Sika Kone
• Taya Reimer (Training Camp Deal)
• Li Yueru (Unprotected Contract)

Things can change still, players can be add, trades can be made, but at present, this team is likely to struggle mightily to compete this season.

The team has the 3rd overall pick in this coming draft, as previously mentioned, however where the top end of this class drops off is a question mark, as it's uncertain who will enter the draft or return to school, namely Paige Bueckers.

Chicago has their own first round pick in 2025 and Phoenix's first rounder in 2026. Much can happen between now and then, but at present, Phoenix looks to be headed towards consistent competitiveness, potentially diminishing the value of the pick.

Again, the Sky can continue to make trades, looking to find value as they rebuild, but it's difficult to not point out that the starting point is rough. After attempting to bridge the gap for a year, in between contention and truly rebuilding, the Sky banked on getting Copper to re-sign, something they succeeded in. The trade last off-season was already a headscratcher for many around the league, but I felt it could be justified if Kah re-signed and the team could bring in key free agents prior to the 2024 season.

It's great that the Sky were able to pivot now and return value rather than Copper walking, but it almost feels a moot point after what was given up last season, including 2 first round picks to Dallas, as well as giving Dallas the rights to swap firsts in 2025.

A ton needs to take place for Chicago to rejuvenate their asset base and set them up to build towards a better future, which goes without mentioning the infrastructure arms race that's setting the tone for free agency at large.

The lone bright spot is that the way has officially been paved for Dana Evans to take on a larger role and opportunity this season. Evans has excelled for Turkish club Beskitas, averaging 24 points and 6.3 assists across 29 games, shooting 38.3% from deep on nearly 8 attempts per game.

You can't hold prior organizational decisions over the heads of new changemakers, but regardless of context and nuance, this is not the start you imagine the Sky hoping for.