Principal owner Michael Alter told reporters earlier this month that he isn’t happy that the Sky are missing the playoffs for the third year in a row.
That should be a given.
If he’s planning to do anything about it, he should be paying attention to the Sparks.
Not because the Sparks are necessarily a model WNBA franchise. In fact, they’ve made many of the same mistakes as the Sky in recent years. They got caught flat-footed for the first wave of teams building practice facilities, and their reputation suffered. They’ve also traded away lottery picks who have become All-Stars for other teams, without any playoff bids to show for it.
These disappointments have left both teams in a tough spot.
But the Sparks are responding differently than the Sky.
They fired their general manager, Reagan Pebley, who came in with no front office experience, and replaced her with a longtime NBA scout and executive, Ariana Andonian.
They’ve also quietly revamped their front office to include two experienced assistant general managers, Zach Knowlton and Nate Nielsen, as well as hiring analysts to support them.
This isn’t a revolutionary move. The Lynx, Storm, Liberty and Mercury have all led the charge in professionalizing their front offices — now other teams have to match that to stay competitive.
And if the expansion teams‘ approach is an indicator of the trend, it won’t be long before front offices in the W start to look more like their NBA counterparts: staffed by teams of scouts to evaluate talent, alongside number-crunchers who can provide analytical insights.
So what is the Sky’s plan here? General manager Jeff Pagliocca was promoted from within the organization in 2023, but still does not have an assistant GM or a dedicated team under him.
Maybe Alter’s comfortable with the one-man band, given Pagliocca’s strengths.
This past offseason, Pagliocca had some scouting wins, like finding undrafted guard Sydney Taylor, and a promising trade return in landing Rickea Jackson from the Sparks. Going forward, he should be able to leverage strong relationships around the league — former players including Kahleah Copper, Marina Mabrey, and Michaela Onyenwere have vouched for his integrity and personability to the Sun-Times.
But you don’t have to look far to see what’s missing without a numbers-oriented team behind you. Take the Lynx, one of Pagliocca’s first trade partners in 2024. The Lynx traded down in that draft to get a pick swap from the Sky in 2026. It was based on a projection that the Sky would end up a lottery team, and they were right — the Sky ultimately sent them the No. 2 pick in 2026.
The Lynx used it to draft point guard Olivia Miles, a generational talent, and sit comfortably atop the league standings.
The Lynx, of course, got lucky that Miles was available at No. 2, but that’s part of the point — smart projections can put you in a position to be lucky. Conversely, a one-man band approach can leave you vulnerable to bad luck.
As a long-time business executive, Alter should understand this.
He should also know that adding brainpower to the front office wouldn’t cost a fortune —
and that it’s not just about hiring people for optic’s sake. It’s about having a vision for what a successful WNBA team looks like in 2026.
If Alter’s got one in mind, he needs to start showing it.