The Chicago Sky erased the final faux pas of the James Wade era on Wednesday, trading Marina Mabry to the Connecticut Sun for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round draft pick and the rights to a 2026 first-round draft pick in exchange. The Sky also sent a 2025 second-round draft pick to the Sun.
Mid-season trades made before the Aug. 20 deadline are unusual in the WNBA, but the Sky have begun moving with more urgency since hiring coach Teresa Weatherspoon and general manager Jeff Pagliocca last fall.
The Mabrey trade marks a dramatic change for the Sky, who have traditionally used a shooting guard as the focal point of their offense. Mabrey has started the season as the Sky’s leading scorer, making 46 percent of his 3-point attempts. Team with worst shooting percentage in the league Behind the arc.
So why would the Sky trade one of their most productive players just as they were starting to get some breathing room in their playoff run?
In the short term, Banham should help make up for the loss of Mabrey, who averaged 34.8% shooting from the 3-point line on 1.1 attempts this season. But this isn’t just a trade to make the Sky stronger this season. It reflects a focus on the future of a team that is recalibrating with rookie big men Camila Cardozo and Angel Reese as its center of gravity.
Mabry is in the second year of a three-year, $620,000 contract that is the Sky’s heaviest deal since last year’s sign-and-trade deal. It was the final flop in a disastrous exit year for former coach and GM Wade, who cleared the Sky’s draft picks to acquire Mabry and sign him to a big contract in the hopes that he would be a franchise-starting scorer in Chicago.
Mabry improved his scoring last season, but his 15 points per game and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range weren’t enough to make up for other weaknesses on the offensive line, and his poor shooting performance this season only highlights the gamble Wade took.
The disconnect between Mabry’s contract and her value on the court was highlighted when Weatherspoon temporarily benched her at a key moment earlier this month.
The Sky are already recovering from that trade — Pagliocca has steadily worked his way back up the draft through trades, including the No. 3 and No. 7 picks used to select Cardoso and Reese this year — and sending Mabry to Connecticut is a final bid to get out of that slump.
The price of being a Chicago Sky fan has gone up, so where is that money going?
The trade may not give the Sky much of a boost heading into the final playoff game after the Olympic break. Banham has shot the ball more efficiently this season but has taken fewer shots, while Mabry has been a better 3-point shooter throughout his career and has been a leader on the team even during poor shooting times.
But the Sky are in their developmental years, so short-term results aren’t as important, and if they make the playoffs (they’re in last place, three games behind the Atlanta Dream), it would be a great opportunity for young players like Reese, Cardozo and Chennedy Carter to get their first postseason experience.
If not, the Sky will get a draft pick in next year’s draft and can go into future drafts having nearly recovered their losses.
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