Veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot is coming back to the Sky next season. And for now, so are the two men steering the ship.
After finishing at the bottom of the standings, the Sky still haven’t explained how they plan to climb back into the playoff picture or attract top free agents. General manager Jeff Pagliocca didn’t offer much of a blueprint beyond saying the team is still in “win-now” mode.
But one certainty did emerge from exit interviews: Vandersloot, the WNBA’s all-time assists leader, will return.
“If she’s healthy, she’s going to
be playing basketball here,” Pagli-occa said.
Vandersloot tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee just seven games into the season, leaving a gap at point guard that haunted the Sky. Both of her backups battled injuries, and Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh pointed to her absence as the factor that derailed their plans.
“We never got to really see the full scope of her integrated into what we’re trying to build here,” Marsh told the Sun-Times.
Vandersloot, 36, discussed her potential return in a recent television interview, saying that she’s working on a comeback and that her “age is not a factor.” Pagliocca echoed that confidence.
“I think she’s more fired up than ever to prove the world wrong about who she is and what she’s capable of,” he said.
However, her age did come up in a recent interview with teammate Angel Reese, who questioned the wisdom of building around a player who will be 37 next season and returning from an ACL tear. Reese was suspended for the comments and later apologized, but the concern is straightforward: If Vandersloot has the standard 12-month recovery for such an injury, she wouldn’t return until June. Training camp opens in April, with the season starting in May.
Even Pagliocca acknowledged the Sky will need more depth.
“We know that [Vandersloot] is not going to be playing 38 minutes a game,” he said. “We’re going to need somebody to be here and be capable of playing that position if she’s not ready.”
Marsh and Pagliocca also appear set to return next season. Pagliocca said he has “full support” from ownership and called Marsh “the right man for the job.” Marsh has not yet had his review but told the Sun-Times he hopes to be back.
The Sky fired first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon a week after last season ended. Marsh appears safer. Players credited him for his steadiness through a difficult season and called him one of the smartest when it comes to X’s and O’s.
Although Marsh was not immune from outside criticism — no coach of a 10-34 team is — most of the heat has been on Pagliocca.
During the team’s final home game, fans chanted “Fire Jeff” as the Sky lost their 34th game.
“Hearing those things is not ideal,” Pagliocca said. “I pour my heart and soul into this job. I lose sleep over the losing. If anyone’s going to take the bullets, I’d rather be me over our head coach or our players.”
Players said the chants and seasonlong criticism became a distraction. Marsh added that one thing he learned about his GM is Pagliocca is willing to absorb it.
“He takes that for the organization, and he takes it for the players,” Marsh said.
The biggest open question is Reese, the franchise player. Pagliocca said he’s in contact daily with her, and the front office is operating as though she’s returning. It’s unclear if Reese will say the same.
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