A while back, after Angel Reese slapped a clipboard out of the hand of a Chicago Sky assistant during a timeout, fans suggested that Chi Barbie wanted to be Chi Bye Bye and force a trade to a contending team.
During a promising rookie season under rookie coach Teresa Weatherspoon, where the young Sky competed for a playoff spot with Caitlin Clark’s Indianapolis Fever almost down to the wire, offseason moves were made that weakened the team around their centerpiece.
Angel Reese Confirms She Is Looking At The Front Door: Is She Leaving Chicago Sky?
Now the two-time All-Star has finally put it into the atmosphere with comments to the Chicago Tribune that the last place organization needs to get better players and upgrade the roster or she wants out. Well after stumbling to the current 9-30 record, further positioning themselves for the No.1 overall pick in the draft, Reese, one of the few bright spots on the Chicago Sky, wasn’t shy about how she feels about this season, her teammates, and the direction of the once-proud franchise.
“I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
Reese hints that she’s already been vocal with the front office about what she feels the team needs to be successful. Reese has always been a winning player, leading LSU women to their first-ever national championship and winning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstading Player in 2023. She’s been a double-double machine since entering the league, and plays her role to perfection. Reese implied that unless she sees some changes she is out the door.
“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want. I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me.”
“I’m willing and wanting to play with the best,” she said. “And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason. So it’s going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can’t settle for what we have this year.”
Angel Reese’s Teammates Reportedly Didn’t Like Her Message: Reese Gets 8th Tech Of Season
According to reports, Reese also blasted her teammates, saying she doesn’t believe guards Rachel Banham or Hailey Van Lith are capable of leading a playoff team. She also feels that 36-year-old Courtney Vandersloot is not capable of leading the team to great heights anymore.
ALL VERY FAIR ASSESMENTS..BTW
The technical foul she received on Wednesday night after backhanding center Aliyah Edwards in the head, is another example of Reese showing everyone that she doesn’t want to be in Chicago. Reese’s tech was her 8th this season so she will be suspended for the Sky’s next game unless it is rescinded. It doesn’t benefit her brand in any way to be associated with a loser. The fact they are losing isn’t her fault. She’s improved her game in every aspect, especially around the rim.
Chicago didn’t offer the controversial and explosive scoring guard Chennedy Carter a contract for 2025 and nobody in the WNBA picked her up, forcing the 20 point per game scorer to play overseas. That was the first head-scratcher. This is after trading away long-range assassin Marina Mabrey. The team got rid of everyone who could actually provide Reese and 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso with the shooters and perimeter punch needed to be a winning team . Let’s not forget assists master Vandersloot went down with an ACL back in June.
Angel Reese Criticized By WNBA Executives For Comments About Team: She Apologizes To Chicago Sky
According to new developments, multiple WNBA executives have called Reese’s comments unprecedented. Reese’s teammates have seen her comments and now plan to confront her in a scheduled team meeting.
Reese apologized on Thursday and clarified her remarks.
Angel Reese said: “I don’t think I’m frustrated, I’m probably am frustrated at myself right now. I think the language is taken out of context and I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates. “I want to apologize to my teammates, which I already have, about the article and how it was misconstrued, about what was said. I just have to be better with my language because I know it’s not the message, it’s the messenger. And understanding what I say can be taken any type of way. So I just have to really be better and grow from this,” Reese concluded.
Angel Reese Needs To Leave Rebuilding Sky
There is nothing to grow from. The Sky made all of the wrong moves since last season’s promising end. They tried to act as if they were putting a product on the court that could compete but it was clear early on in the seasons that they had some real deficiencies and it wouldn’t benefit their franchise post players. They panicked by getting rid of T-Spoon, which put a bad taste in Reese’s mouth from the jump, Then to see how horribly the new head coach and organiozation handles team construction, it’s understandable why Reese isn’t feeling the organization.
Maybe it is time for Reese to move on and into a system with dynamic players who can truly maximize what she does better than anyone else. The system Reese is currently in and the lack of elite talent surrounding her is not what she signed up for as the No. 7 overall pick in the vaunted 2024 draft. Also as the face of Reebok, a powerful brand, and a player who despite her critics, was always synonymous with winning.
NBA players jump ship all the time. My only question is, what took her so long?
