Mystics Should Explore Skylar Diggins Trade After Frustrations Over Sky Role Change
Skylar Diggins shared on Instagram on Monday that she’ll be coming off the bench for the Chicago Sky and didn’t hide her frustration. Diggins and the Sky were always a questionable match. The seven-time All-Star has high standards on and off the court, and Chicago hasn’t exactly established itself as an organization that’s known for those things.
There’s still plenty of time for the two sides to iron things out, but Diggins’s comments don’t bode well for her long-term future with the Sky. This is, after all, the second time in a 19-game span that she has called out the Sky. In early June, Diggins said amid a tough losing streak that the team needed “more maturity” from players and staff and that “it’s been an extremely frustrating experience.” Diggins wouldn’t be the first star to ask for a trade out of Chicago.
The Washington Mystics are the team that should monitor the situation most closely. With Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen, and Shakira Austin, the Mystics have a great young core. Despite a tough loss to the Golden State Valkyries, in which they scored only 49 points, on Monday, the Mystics are still eighth in the standings and very much in the playoff picture.
A veteran point guard is just what this young team needs to take the next step.
The Mystics would benefit from a more experienced point guard
Between Georgia Amoore, Alicia Florenz, Rori Harmon, and Lucy Olsen, the Mystics have plenty of young guard talent next to Citron. But Harmon and Olsen barely play, Amoore is fresh off a devastating ACL injury that cost her a whole season last year, and Florez is a 22-year-old rookie who missed training camp. Much of the Mystics’ guard rotation is young, inexperienced, and not quite ready to run a consistently successful offense.
Inserting a more veteran and proven player into the starting point guard spot would give Amoore and Florez, the most promising prospects in that group, time to develop and learn from an experienced pro instead of asking them to produce immediately. It would also help create better looks for Citron, Iriafen, and Austin. Citron, in particular, has had to take on a big playmaking responsibility due to the Mystics’ thin point guard production.
The Mystics rank twelfth in assists per game with 19.2 and last in turnovers with 17.3. A veteran presence like Skylar Diggins, although she’s not off to a great start compared to previous seasons, could help steady the Mystics’ offense and limit turnovers.
Diggins would also provide a necessary scoring punch on the perimeter. Amoore averages just 6.2 points per game on 31.9% shooting from the field and 27.2% from deep. Florez puts up an average of five points on 32.3% shooting from the field and 20.8% from behind the arc. Lucy Olsen averages 2.9 points per game, and Michaela Onyenwere and Cotie McMahon put up 10.8 and 6.7 points per game, respectively, on the wing. Citron is by far the most productive perimeter scorer on the team, with 18.6 points per game, and would benefit from consistent help in that area.
Trading for Diggins could help the Mystics go from a fun, young team to a legitimate playoff contender. The question is just what it would take for the Sky to trade her. The two organizations have made a few deals recently, as the Mystics sent Ariel Atkins and Jacy Sheldon to Chicago for draft compensation. The Mystics have the right to swap 2027 first-round picks with the Sky due to the Atkins trade. Given their record, the possibility of somehow negating that or at least getting back some picks could be enticing for the Sky.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.