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Three Elite WNBA Free Agents The Chicago Sky Should Pair With Angel Reese in 2025

There are three 2025 WNBA free agents who would be great fits with Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.

Grant Young

Aug 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) reacts next to forward Angel Reese (5) after scoring against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (7) reacts next to forward Angel Reese (5) after scoring against the Las Vegas Aces during the second half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Regardless of how the Chicago Sky's 2024 regular season ends, this upcoming offseason might be among the biggest in franchise history.

Even if Chicago gets bounced in the first round of the WNBA playoffs or doesn't make the playoffs at all, the extremely impressive rookie seasons that Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso have produced has surely shown Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca that he knocked the 2024 WNBA Draft out of the park and now has two franchise cornerstones to build a championship-caliber roster around.

There's also guard Chennedy Carter, who has found a home in Chicago and become one of the WNBA's most explosive offensive guards.

Carter is set to be a restricted free agent after this season, and her success this season (especially as a complement to Reese) will likely make the Sky want to re-sign her.

And even if Chicago does re-sign Carter, they'll still have a lot of money to spend on free agents. Their $1,023,625 in cap space next season is third-most in the WNBA, and only $483,475 of that is already allocated to rostered players.

This 2024-25 WNBA free agent class is one of the best in league history. And given Chicago's current roster strengths and deficiencies, three players stand out as fantastic fits alongside Reese, Cardoso, and potentially Carter.

Those three players are Satou Sabally, Kelsey Plum, and Kelsey Mitchell.

Before we discuss why these three players would be great fits with the Sky, we want to be clear that these potential free-agency destinations are purely hypothetical, and these players aren't connected to Chicago in any way at the moment.

With that said, let's start with Sabally.

The Dallas Wings forward is set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season ends. Sabally, who was the 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player, missed all 25 of Dallas' regular season games before the Paris Olympics break with a shoulder injury.

Sabally has averaged 18.3 points per game since returning.

Chicago's two biggest roster deficiencies right now are reliable three-point shooting and a defensive presence on the wing. Sabally shot 36.1% from three-point range in 2023, and her combination of size and athleticism has turned her into an elite defender.

Given that Sabally is still just 26 years old, she could be another franchise cornerstone player for the Sky's future if she were to sign there.

Las Vegas Aces star guard Kelsey Plum is also going to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. While Plum's 2024 scoring (18 points per game) is down slightly from the past two years, she is still an elite offensive threat; especially from behind the three-point arc.

Granted, Plum has struggled defensively at times. But she's one of the WNBA's best catch-and-shoot players and would be the perfect person for Angel Reese to kick it out to after securing offensive rebounds.

Plum's also one of the WNBA's biggest names, which would attract even more attention to Chicago's already star-studded squad.

The third free agent that would be a great fit with Chicago is current Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell.

While the Fever will likely try their hardest to re-sign Mitchell this offseason, the 28-year-old is set to enter free agency. And she may be seeking a new home after playing with Indiana for her entire career, spanning back to 2018.

The two-time WNBA All-Star would especially be a perfect fit with Chicago if they don't re-sign Chennedy Carter, as the two have similar play styles. But even if Carter remains with the team, she and Mitchell would make for a dominant backcourt duo that's more agile and athletic than any other team.

Plus, Mitchell's success playing with Caitlin Clark this year has proven that she can thrive alongside another point guard.

Mitchell is as consistent as can be on the offensive end. She has scored between 17.8 to 18.4 points per game in each of the past five seasons and is on track to do the same this year.

With the insane amount of talent that is slated to enter free agency after the 2024 WNBA season, the league's landscape is sure to change by the time 2025 tips off.

And the Sky will surely want to start constructing a championship-contending team this offseason while Reese and Cardoso are still under contract for a few more seasons.

With their available cap space, they could reasonably sign two of these three players.

Time will tell whether any of these three players will be in Chicago next season.

Published
Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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