star news hit Chicago on Monday morning, when the Chicago Sky traded two-time All-Star Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream. The move landed after a turbulent stretch for Reese and a franchise that has repeatedly watched star players leave. In Eastern Time, the trade became public early Monday, putting a sharp end to a tense chapter in Chicago.
Reese was drafted with the seventh pick in 2024 and arrived with Kamilla Cardoso as part of the Sky’s expected future. Instead, her exit now adds another major name to a long list of departures, and star remains the word hovering over the franchise’s latest shake-up.
Star departure follows months of tension
The trade comes after Reese gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune in which she voiced frustration with the Sky’s season. She was then suspended for half a game for what the team described as “statements detrimental to the team. ” That sequence signaled that the relationship had become strained well before the deal was completed.
During Chicago’s last game of the 2025 season, fans chanted for the firing of general manager Jeff Pagliocca, and one fan near the court wore a “Free Angel” shirt. With collective bargaining talks ongoing in the offseason, no moves could be made at the time. Once a deal was possible and expansion drafts were completed, Chicago moved Reese to Atlanta.
Star exits have become a pattern
Reese’s trade fits a pattern that has defined the Sky’s history: losing a star, whether by force or by choice. The franchise has done this before, including with players drafted from LSU and with others who made their dissatisfaction clear.
Chicago drafted Sylvia Fowles with the No. 2 pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. After failing to reach an extension, she sat out part of the 2015 season to press for a trade and was eventually dealt to the Minnesota Lynx. Fowles then won a championship and Finals MVP honors in 2015 and 2017.
Elena Delle Donne later followed a similar path after expressing a desire to leave Chicago to be closer to her family. She was traded to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper and the second overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft. Delle Donne later won a second MVP award in 2019 with Washington.
What the move means now
The Sky’s decision also arrives against the backdrop of a franchise that has repeatedly tried to reset around high-end talent. In 2021, Chicago traded Azura Stevens, the fourth pick in 2018, to the Los Angeles Sparks after suspending her, though the team did not provide a reason. That same offseason, the Sky added Candace Parker, a proven star and veteran leader who helped lift the team after years without a dynamic centerpiece.
Now the focus turns to how Chicago will respond after parting with another major name and how Atlanta will use its new addition. For the Sky, the trade underscores a stubborn reality: star talent has not stayed for long, and this star departure may become part of the franchise’s larger story once again.
