Diggins’ decision to join Sky a sign of respect for frustrating franchise

This is an ideal spot for a metaphor about how the weather can change quickly in Chicago.

The Sky changed its roster significantly in a span of seven days. It began by trading the team's most recognizable player, Angel Reese, to Atlanta for a pair of future first-rounders. Two more trades, three free-agent signings and the WNBA draft followed, which means roughly half the 2026 roster will be new faces.

Does this mean sunnier skies ahead? Tough to say. The depth of talent looks good on paper, but are there any true stars?

Maybe 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, heading into her third year with the Sky, will finally blossom. Her scoring average rose from 9.8 points to 13.6 in her second season.

The Sky landed a potential rising star in 6-2 forward Rickea Jackson via trade from Los Angeles. Just 25, she received MVP votes last season. The team's highest-paid player is free-agent addition Azura Stevens, a 6-6 center who played for the Sky's 2021 championship team, then spent three years with the Sparks.

Based on last year's scoring averages, though, the best player on the new-look roster could be veteran Skylar Diggins. She averaged 15.5 points for Seattle last season while earning her seventh all-star nod.

“I still feel like I'm capable of playing basketball at a really high level,” Diggins said at the Sky's introductory news conference. “I'm not just coming in here saying this is the end for me. I want to play some good basketball.”

For those who lost track of Diggins since she wrapped up at Notre Dame in 2013, she's now 35 and a mother of two. She's moved through Tulsa, Dallas, Phoenix and Seattle; her lone WNBA Finals appearance was a loss to the Sky with the Mercury in '21.

“I just decided (signing with the Sky) was a change needed for my family and I,” Diggins said. “I'm from The Bend, from South Bend. So I'm no stranger to the area, no stranger to the Midwest. Wanted to be close to home and close to family. I have a 7-year-old and a 3-year-old, so I'm bringing my kiddos with me.”

Diggins is not even the most veteran presence on the Sky roster. Courtney Vandersloot, 37, signed on for two more years after her Sky reunion season was cut short by a torn ACL in her right knee last June.

Diggins singled out Vandersloot as one of the players she's looked up to. Another experienced guard is Rachel Banham, a holdover entering her 11th WNBA season.

Maybe Diggins' arrival helps validate the Sky's new direction. When the team hired former Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh as head coach last year, he was billed as a very popular, respected figure in the league. That didn't pay any dividends during last season's 10-34 campaign.

A new year and some roster turnover at least give the Sky a chance to change its perception as one of the least desirable WNBA destinations. The team's new Bedford Park practice facility is still under construction. The team announced via X Thursday it will hold training camp and practices at UIC, rather than the Sachs Recreation Center in Deerfield.

“Players talk around the league,” Diggins said. “We get a unique chance, all of us, at Unrivaled (the 3-on-3 winter league), to all be in the same spaces. We have a lot of conversations down there.”

James Wade, the Sky's championship coach, used to argue there's no point in playing for high draft picks in the WNBA. The reasoning is it's an older league, where young players don't usually make a difference and players change teams in free agency more often.

So common NBA terms like tanking and rebuilding aren't as popular in the WNBA.

“We're going to be in win-now mode as long as I'm here,” said Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca, a Long Grove native. “We landed our targets. … We were looking for more fire. We have that now.”

Coincidentally, the Sky will open the season on the road May 9 against the expansion Portland Fire. WNBA training camps begin Sunday.