Sky Should Trade Draft Picks with Mystics Again
Since Jeff Pagliocca has taken over as the general manager of the Chicago Sky, he has been consistent on a few accounts. Though, unfortunately, one of those two are back-to-back losing seasons and missing the WNBA Playoffs for the second year in a row, he has made some major deals before either season started.
In Pagliocca's first year, he signed off on a trade at the 2024 WNBA Draft that saw the Sky and the Minnesota Lynx swap picks. Instead of Chicago taking on Alissa Pili, the 2021 WNBA champions welcomed forward Angel Reese as their second rookie of the first round that night.
Joining center Kamilla Cardoso, Reese helped fix the Sky's rebounding woes from 2023. Chicago has been among the WNBA's best rebounding teams for the past two seasons during Pagliocca's tenure. The former LSU Tigers standout has led the league in rebounding in both her seasons with the Sky.
Last year, Chicago struck another trade on draft night when the team announced they were trading the rights to the third overall selection of the 2025 WNBA Draft for veteran guard Ariel Atkins. That's how the Washington Mystics landed Sonia Citron who became an All-Star during her rookie season.
In the hopes of turning the Sky's fortune around by adding a former WNBA champion (2019), the Mystics got the better end of the deal. Now, the two teams could become trade partners again for this sole reason.
Sky could gain more draft stock from Mystics in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Chicago owns the fifth overall pick in the spring. Though that isn't as good as the first overall pick, it is still higher than both of Washington's first-round picks in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
The Mystics own the ninth and eleventh picks come draft night. While both teams missed out on the WNBA Playoffs in 2025, the Sky could help the Mystics move up in the draft and gain two rookies in the first round along the way.
2026 WNBA Draft Order:
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) November 23, 2025
1. Wings
2. Lynx
3. Storm
4. Mystics
5. Sky
6. Tempo/Fire
7. Fire/Tempo
8. Valkyries
9. Mystics
10. Fever
11. Mystics
12. Sun
13. Dream
14. Storm
15. Sun
Tempo and Fire will flip a coin for the No. 6 and No. 7 draft picks at a later date. pic.twitter.com/GhTNYt2Qzy
The last time Chicago welcomed two players in the first round of a WNBA season, it saw Cardoso and Reese transform the Sky. They went from the fourth-worst rebounding team in 2023 to among one of the best collectors of missed shots, including their own.
Pagliocca may miss out on top stars like UConn's guard Azzi Fudd and UCLA's center Lauren Bett. They could pull Reese's former teammate at LSU, Flau'Jae Johnson, if she fell to Chicago at the ninth overall pick after this proposed trade.
That would give the Sky another selection two picks later, potentially adding a point guard like Iyana Martin Carrion from Spain. Chicago lacked play-making skills once veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot went down in the team's seventh game due to a season-ending ACL tear.
feed
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.