Sky executives showed up at practice Tuesday to talk to players about the new Bedford Park practice facility, a $40 million project they hope will help sell free agents and signal progress after a 9-30 season.
Right after the meeting, Angel Reese undercut the optimism with blunt honesty about her offseason expectations.
“I’m not settling for the same s−−− we did this year,” Reese told the Chicago Tribune about free agency. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
Reese told the Tribune she’d do whatever it takes to recruit top talent in the offseason, but she also raised the possibility of leaving if the Sky don’t meet her standards.
“I’d like to be here for my career,” she said. “But if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me.”
A season of skepticism
Reese’s comments extended a pattern of skepticism about the Sky’s direction.
When asked in late August whether the Sky took steps forward despite missing the playoffs, she answered it was “hard to tell.”
After All-Star break, she said she returned with notes from veteran players about the “small things” top players now expect of their organizations — and she shared that list with the Sky.
And following a long recovery from a back injury, she hinted at a disconnect over the process, saying she’d “speak on it after the season.” In the meantime, she emphasized that she’d learned to put herself first.
“Probably didn’t do that last year,” Reese said after her second game back from injury. “Just try to go out there and play through every damn thing. I can’t always do that. I have to prioritize myself. And when everybody else wants me out there, I can’t do that.”
What it means for the Sky
The Sky face the biggest offseason in league history: almost every veteran is available to be signed, and two well-funded expansion teams are arriving. Executives keep projecting confidence.
Their star player doesn’t sound convinced.
“We need great players, and I don’t know what will attract that,” Reese told the Tribune. “Maybe the practice facility will attract that, we’ll see.”
“Honestly, it would be a leap of faith for a great, great player to come here and show this is something they want to be a part of.”