The Sky suddenly have a hole in their frontcourt.
Starting forward Azurá Stevens has been away from the team for the past week for personal reasons and missed Saturday’s buzzer-beater win over the Aces. Coach Tyler Marsh did not offer a timeline for her return.
Meanwhile, the Lynx have poached one of her backups. Minnesota is signing development player Chloe Bibby to a standard contract. The Sky technically had the right to match the offer, but with their salary cap maxed out and all their standard contracts now guaranteed, they had almost no way to create space.
“It’s bittersweet,” Marsh said. “You’re always happy for them. This is what development spots are for. Bibbs deserves to be in this league. We love and appreciate the things she’s been able to do during her time here.”
Bibby gave the Sky a useful wrinkle — more size and spacing — and contributed to two wins. She scored eight points with two assists off the bench in Thursday’s win over the Sun and posted a career-high 14 points in a win over Seattle earlier this month.
The Sky can add another forward to their now-open development spot, but Marsh expects small lineups moving forward.
“Even with Bibbs playing last game, you saw a good amount of us playing small, with DiJonai [Carrington] in and [Natasha Cloud] in as well,” he said.
This was a guard-heavy roster to begin with, and Rickea Jackson‘s season-ending knee injury stretched the frontcourt even thinner.
Deadline day
The deadline to make trades is 2 p.m. Sunday, but Marsh’s focus is on the team he has.
“We’ll let [general manager] Jeff [Pagliocca] handle the trades and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I’m focused on who’s in our locker room and what we have, and we’re all confident in where we’re at right now to be able to make a push.”
The Sky still believe they can make the playoffs, and Saturday’s clutch win buoyed that spirit.
But the odds remain stacked against them, and given the Mystics’ recent success, the most likely scenario is still that the Sky send a lottery pick to Washington in exchange for a low first-rounder.
If Pagliocca could strike a deal to cancel the swap, would that relieve pressure on the season? Marsh basically said no.
“We’re all in that same boat, feeling the pressure and weight of trying to catch a New York or Washington or whoever’s in that eight spot,” he said. “So it’s not for me to worry about that swap. You take care of business and you don’t have to worry about it.”
No Diggins
Point guard Skylar Diggins, who has been out with a right knee injury since being moved to the bench, has not surfaced in any trade reports. Marsh did not have an updated timeline for her return, though he made a point to vouch for her attendance.
“Skylar is working with our medical team and her doctors as well,” he said. “She’s been in the facility every day practice-wise. Off days, game days. She’s been around and been in the building. She’s progressing. Not at a point where she’s ready to come back. She’s putting in the work diligently to get back as healthy as possible.”