Sky Should View Sun As Trade Partner

Chicago has just four players currently signed for 2026 or beyond. Center Kamilla Cardoso and two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese have at least one more season left, unless their fourth year options are picked up. Last season's rookies Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld have at least two more years under team control, as well.

Both Tyler Marsh and Jeff Pagliocca are potentially in the hot seat. Especially if the Sky were to miss the WNBA Playoffs for the third season in a row. Here's at least one reason why Chicago should consider making a deal with the Connecticut Sun once the CBA announces when trading within the league can start.

A reunion with Marina Mabrey makes sense.

Two seasons ago, the veteran guard was sent to Connecticut for a pair of players and a draft pick. That's how the Sky acquired Rachel Batham and Moriah Jefferson.

Only one of those two players finished the season with Chicago in 2025. As Jefferson was released from the team midseason, Batham is now one of the Sky's several free agents. Other veteran guards like Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins also remain unsigned for the upcoming 2026 WNBA season.

Both Vandersloot and Atkins are former WNBA champions. Vandersloot won her first title when the Sky won theirs back in 2021. She won a second title in 2024 with the New York Liberty. Atkins won her first and only title with the Washington Mystics in her second season in the WNBA.

Bringing back Marina Mabrey is a viable option for Chicago. It's one to consider heavily if the Sky are unable to retain Atkins or another player with her scoring ability. Trading the fifth overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft for Mabrey helps the Sun with their rebuild and gives the Sky a player who can score.

In her first full season with the Sun, the former Sky guard recorded more than 14 points in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 2025. However, one more than one occasion, Mabrey has pushed for a trade to depart Connecticut given the team underwent a serious rebuild in which they saw multiple starters and even their former head coach, Stephanie White, leave the team.

Offering Van Lith or Westbeld with a first-round pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft could entice the Sun to move on from Mabrey. The only downfall is that Mabrey is only under contract for one more season. The Sky would be at risk of losing the coveted scorer the same way the team might lose Atkins this winter.

For a franchise that won a WNBA championship just four years ago, Chicago may take this risk. Their win total decreased in 2025 from the season before, leaving more than just Reese disgruntled and unhappy about it. Sky fans have seen enough losing, too.