Sky earn a B- for draft; They got big names, but they are big projects
South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso celebrates after cutting down the net after the Final Four college basketball championship game against Iowa in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. South Carolina won 87-75.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
NEW YORK — The dust has settled on the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Now that the initial allure of drafting the most recognizable player in college basketball aside from Caitlin Clark in Angel Reese and the college game’s most dominant big in Kamilla Cardoso has faded, it’s time to evaluate exactly how well the Sky did.
Monday night was the first draft of both general manager Jeff Pagliocca and coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s career and the grade for the new tandem is a B-.
The reason for the less-than-perfect score starts with the fact that both Cardoso, whom the Sky selected with the No. 3 overall pick, and Reese, whom they took with the No. 7 pick, need time to develop.
“We want people to come here and grow,” Pagliocca said. “We want people to know when they get to Chicago they’re going to finish each season with a whole new skill.”
That’s all well and good, but Pagliocca’s trade for the No. 7 pick puts the Sky on a tight turnaround timeline, which is the second factor for this grade.
On Sunday morning, Pagliocca executed a trade with the Lynx for the No. 7 pick in exchange for their No. 8 pick, forward Sika Kone, a 2025 second-round pick, and the rights to swap 2026 first-round picks. The expectation for this season is to compete. If they make the playoffs, it’ll be marked a success.
But, in 2025, they need to do more than just get by.
Next year, Pagliocca needs to be in the best position to go out and get top free-agent candidates. The only way he’s able to accomplish that is if Sky ownership makes a considerable dent in plans for their own practice facility.
As was displayed during this last free- agency period, top targets are not entertaining teams that are practicing out of recreation centers. The Sky’s inability to land Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike led to franchise star Kahleah Copper’s trade request.
Of course, Pagliocca was able to get a solid return from the Phoenix Mercury for Copper, but it will be null and void if he’s in the same position come 2026.
The Sky’s current roster also needs to be considered when it comes to handing out draft grades. There are currently seven frontcourt players under contract.
Two of them, Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere, were part of the trade haul for Copper. Drafting Cardoso and Reese was clearly a move for the future, but it brings into question what the Sky’s plan is now.
With the game moving more towards a positionless style of play, it’s a curious decision by Pagliocca to draft two bigs who together took just 34 three-point attempts in their career. Reese accounted for the bulk of those attempts, with 32 in her four-year career.
Pagliocca said Sunday night he wants to slowly extend both Cardoso and Reese’s shot range out to the perimeter. Again, it’s a good idea in theory, but there’s no guarantee it will work.
The reason why this draft earned such a high grade is because of the collective star power between these two talents. When Pagliocca traded Copper, it left the Sky’s identity in free fall and fans clamoring on social media for refunds on their season tickets.
Drafting Cardoso and Reese was a real step toward the Sky establishing a new identity and culture that, with Weatherspoon, will be predicated on toughness and grit. But their star power will only shine bright for so long in Chicago before they’ll have to back it up with the caliber of play they displayed at the college level.