GM: Sky keeping Reese despite late-season strife

After a strained extremity of the play betwixt the Chicago Sky and franchise subordinate Angel Reese, wide manager Jeff Pagliocca said Friday that "until I perceive differently, that's the absorption we're going to move, is that she's connected the roster."

Reese, the No. 7 prime successful the 2024 draft, was suspended for a fractional connected Sunday aft making comments to the Chicago Tribune that the franchise deemed "detrimental to the team" -- an organizational determination that came from the apical down, according to manager Tyler Marsh.

Reese did not instrumentality the tribunal for the Sky aft the announcement, and the squad listed her arsenic dealing with a backmost wounded for its last 3 games, spurring interest that the narration betwixt franchise and prima had fragmented -- possibly beyond repair.

"Angel is an ascending young endowment successful this league who's had 2 very, precise bully seasons present successful Chicago," Pagliocca said Friday. "Obviously we went done what we did. I consciousness similar we closed the section connected it. She spoke to her teammates, she spoke publicly. We moved connected arsenic a team. She's a peculiar player. And I person bully conversations with Angel daily, with her squad daily. They're constant, and they're productive."

The two-time All-Star apologized publically and to the squad privately, and the enactment has said since past week it's looking to enactment the incidental down them.

The Sky went 1-13 this play without Reese, who led the league successful rebounds per crippled (12.6) and double-doubles (23), portion besides pacing the squad successful scoring (14.7 PPG) and assists (3.7).

Frustration implicit the Reese concern and much broadly astir the franchise's absorption boiled implicit successful the team's play finale Thursday, with immoderate fans holding signs that work "Free Angel" and "Sell the Team" and astatine 1 constituent immoderate starting a "Fire Jeff" chant.

The Sky person struggled mightily the past 2 years, going 13-27 successful 2024 and firing then-head manager Teresa Weatherspoon aft conscionable 1 season. But 2025 didn't extremity up immoderate better, with Chicago finishing tied for the worst grounds successful the league astatine 10-34.

Some of the dissatisfaction has roots going backmost further, arsenic the Sky, 2021 WNBA champions, person seen aggregate prima players permission the franchise implicit the years and person mostly been considered down others erstwhile it comes to resources and investment.

Reese relayed akin sentiments successful the aforementioned Tribune article, saying she's "not settling for the aforesaid s--- we did this year" and adding that the squad "[has] to get large players" this offseason oregon other she mightiness see moving connected from it.

Pagliocca said the chants were "hard to hear" but reiterated that he's committed to getting things right, and that there's a greater committedness to resources than successful erstwhile years.

"I'm appreciative that we person passionate fans that privation to spot winning," Pagliocca said. "We consciousness the same. And I cognize I person afloat enactment from ownership. We person large conversations. There's a batch of communal respect there. I person each the respect successful the satellite for Tyler. I deliberation he's the feline for the job."

The Sky dealt with a rash of injuries this twelvemonth that lowered their ceiling, with possibly nary arsenic consequential arsenic the nonaccomplishment of constituent defender Courtney Vandersloot 7 games into the play to an ACL tear.

Pagliocca expects Vandersloot, his large escaped cause signing from this offseason, to beryllium backmost successful 2026: "If she's healthy, she's going to beryllium playing hoops here," helium said.

In the Tribune article, Reese expressed interest implicit the Sky's constituent defender situation, saying, "We can't trust connected Courtney [Vandersloot] to travel backmost [from an ACL tear] astatine the property that she's at. I cognize she'll beryllium a large plus for us, but we can't trust connected that. We request someone, astir apt a small younger with immoderate experience, idiosyncratic who's been playing the crippled and is consenting to vie for a title and has done it before."

Pagliocca said that the squad knows it can't beryllium connected Vandersloot to play 38 minutes each game, but the organizati...