Sky Should Try for These 3 Fever Guards
The Chicago Sky are not having the season in 2025 that they were hoping for. After making the change from Teresa Weatherspoon to Tyler Marsh at head coach, the front office believed that this was the best move for the team going forward.
For the second year in a row, the Sky benefited from two first-round picks in the WNBA Draft. In 2024, they took Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese. This year, Ajša Sivka and Hailey Van Lith had their names called to the podium by Chicago.
Those are pretty much the only players for the Sky under contract after next season. Maddy Westbeld, who was selected in the second-round this year, is also under contract past 2025.
Courtney Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins, Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson and Michaela Onyenwere are set to be free agents. The same goes for Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen. Thus, Chicago may want to study these three guards on Sunday when they play the Indiana Fever.
1. Kelsey Mitchell
This Fever guard, just like the next two on the list, is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2025 WNBA regular season. Indiana has some big contracts already with Caitlin Clark and Aaliyah Boston, who are both recent first-overall picks.
The salary cap may hinder Indiana from bringing back everybody. As a result, Mitchell becomes an interesting name and potential player of interest for Chicago's front office.
The former Ohio State Buckeye is averaging just over 19 points a game. That makes her Indiana's leading scorer this season, even ahead of Clark and Boston. That's also more than anyone on the Sky's roster.
Entering Sunday, Mitchell has scored at least 20 points in six of her last seven games for the Fever. Chicago is desperate for that type of offensive production. The Sky are among the league's worst offensively.
Last year, former Sky legend Candace Parker predicted Mitchell would leave the fever. Maybe she was only a year off on that vision.
2. Sophie Cunningham
After enjoying her first six seasons in the league with the Phoenix Mercury, Cunningham was added to the Fever this year. Though she is not known to rack up the assists in a game, the 28-year-old guard isn't known for turning over the basketball much, either.
Including this season, Cunningham has averaged at least 86% shooting from the free throw line with the exception of the 2021 season (70.4%). Primarily a bench player for Indiana, the Sky would immediately benefit from her being a part of their starting lineup.
She has shot better than 41% every season since 2021. A platoon of Cunningham and Van Lith at the shooting guard can fix many of the Sky's woes the past two years.
Cunningham's physicality and tenacious play would only make Chicago stronger. She would be a solid fit alongside the Sky's twin towers, Reese and Cardoso.
3. Lexie Hull
The 25-year-old Fever guard has shown she is a viable role player for a winning team. Just like Cunningham, Hull is averaging more than seven points and four rebounds a game this season.
Another recent first-round pick of Indiana's (2022), there is a possibility of her being available for the Sky if the Fever fails to retain her services. Hull's addition would be an immediate improvement to two troubling areas for Chicago: turnovers and three-point shooting. This Indiana player averages just under a turnover a game while shooting over 40% from deep the past two seasons.
She is perhaps the most affordable of the three. Mitchell is making close to $250,000 this season, and Cunningham is making $100,000. The former Stanford Cardinal player makes less than both in 2025.
Adding either one of these three guards could help Reese and Cardoso make the playoffs in hopes of winning their second WNBA title ever. The Sky won their only one in history in 2021, more recently than the Fever's which was in 2012.
Hopefully, Sunday will be one of the last times the Sky have to worry about Mitchell, Cunningham, or Hull being on the opposite side of the bench going forward.
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.