Sky Should Sign Mercury Free Agent Guard
The Chicago Sky have not had the season they hoped for. With the intent of building a playoff contender, the front office hired a new coach, Tyler Marsh, after firing the previous one, Theresa Weatherspoon.
Other changes included not re-signing Chennedy Carter and adding veterans like Ariel Atkins and former Sky champion Courtney Vandersloot. The return of the All-Star guard was short lived as Vandersloot went down months ago to a season-ending ACL tear.
The Sky's roster was hit by a multitude of other injuries, including Angel Reese's back, among others. Chicago has more than three times as many losses as they do wins (9-29). They were eliminated from playoff contention earlier this month.
HALFTIME IN PHOENIX 🌵
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 29, 2025
The @PhoenixMercury lead the @chicagosky, 37–30!
Kahleah Copper: 14 PTS I 2 REB I 2 STL
Natasha Mack: 8 PTS I 6 REB I 3 BLK
Angel Reese: 7 PTS I 13 REB I 2 AST I 2 BLK
📺 Catch the second half of action on Prime! pic.twitter.com/bRYjSa7Cs6
With just four players under contract after this season, many questions surround what this roster will look like next year. Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso are expected to stay with the Sky. Rookies Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld are still under the Sky's control, too.
Thus, bringing back another key piece from the 2021 WNBA championship team may not be a bad route to go. Here's why the Chicago Sky should bring back Kahleah Copper.
Another return of a former player could be the remedy for the Sky.
While it remains to be seen if Vandersloot comes back on another one-year deal, giving a two or three year tender to the 31-year-old guard could help out with a few of Chicago's deficiencies. On Thursday night, Kahleah Copper showed her former team that she can still hoop.
It may cost the Sky anywhere from $200,000 to $250,000 a year to retain the services of the Copper. However, with as many open roster spots the Sky are projected to have, the current Mercury star is a great fit.
With a 28-point performance, the former Rugters player made it difficult for the Chicago Sky to claw back in their latest defeat. Copper filled up the stat sheet defensively, too.
She also recorded three steals and a block. During the 32 minutes that Copper was in the game, she only committed two turnovers. Coughing up the ball has been an area of contention and one that needs major improvements for the Sky going forward.
Chicago has a league high of 15.6 turnovers per game. The seven teams with the lowest turnover average per contest are all in the playoff picture, including the Mercury. Simply put, teams that want to make the WNBA postseason can't turnover the ball.
Copper returning takes the pressure off of the Sky's twin towers, Cardoso and Reese. It also takes ball-handling duties as Reese is one of the more turnover-prone players in the league.
Though it is purely hypothetical, it makes sense for the Sky's general manager Jeff Pagliocca to make the call to Copper's agent. A starting lineup of Vandersloot, Atkins, Copper, Reese and Cardoso would be a vast upgrade to any of the one's Marsh had to use this year.
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My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.