Chicago Sky Fans Lament Team's Apparent Willingness to Part With Chennedy Carter

The Chicago Sky's decision to not send Chennedy Carter a qualifying offer (yet) has fans upset.
Aug 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) looks on during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Aug 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) looks on during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

A January 13 article from WNBA insider and Chicago Sun-Times Reporter Annie Costabile wrote, "Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca sent out qualifying offers on Monday evening and guard Chennedy Carter was noticeably absent from the list of recipients."

Later on in the article, Costabile adds, "Opting not the make the offer confirms the Sky’s reservations regarding Carter’s impact on the team’s culture on and off the court.

"Carter led the Sky in scoring with 17.5 points per game, but there were questions throughout the season regarding her overall commitment to the team," she continued.

"Players alluded to locker room issues during exit interviews and a culture that catered to the needs of a few versus the entire team. First-year coach Tyler Marsh has made clear his intentions to develop a system that doesn’t prioritize one player."

Sky fans are not happy about Chicago's decision to not send Carter the qualifying offer (at least not yet), which has been made apparent over social media.

"Chennedy getting the blame for the Sky collapsing is nasty," one X user wrote.

Another added, "It seems crazy to not send her out an offer. I know there was a lot of stuff that came up in the exit interviews that we weren't fully aware of... but I didn't know Carter had some roll in it. I just wish that girl would become a team player to change the narrative out there. 🤦".

A third fan added, "They’re really going to let Chennedy Carter walk. What a franchise".

While there's still time for the Sky to send Carter an offer before she becomes an unrestricted free agent, the fact they've already sent qualifying offers to Dana Evans, Michaela Onyenwere, and Nikolina Milić instead of doing so for Carter (who was their leading scorer last season) seems like a decision in itself.


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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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