After pressing the reset button earlier this offseason, the Chicago Sky positioned themselves perfectly heading into Monday night’s draft. While the Indiana Fever unequivocally walked away the winners with phenom Caitlin Clark, the Sky added TWO potential stars and immediate difference-makers.
The organization took Kamilla Cardoso – who is fresh off a national title with South Carolina – at No. 3. Before taking superstar Angel Reese – who is the national title winner from 2023 – at No. 7. Both intimidated players with elite defensive upside and rebounding ability, the Sky will now have one of the most fascinating frontcourts tandems in the league.
The Sky’s draft night fun didn’t stop there. The team also had the No. 13 pick on the board, opting for Gonzaga’s Brynna Maxwell. While I’m not nearly as familiar with Maxwell’s game, it sure looks like a wise choice. As exciting as the Cardoso and Reese picks are, both are somewhat limited offensively. Reese is an unreal athlete, while Cardoso can overpower people inside, but neither possesses much of a jumper. Maxwell does. She shot a combined 45.9 percent for Gonzaga over the previous two seasons on 5.8 attempts per game. I’m sure Marina Mabrey, who will take over most ball-handling duties this season, is quite happy to have a sharpshooter in the backcourt.
Look, none of us should expect the Sky to vault up the WNBA leaderboards this season. They’re going to be very young and very inexperienced. But there also going to be very fun! Again, this is something the Chicago Bulls need to understand. I know the parallels aren’t perfect, but you can still get fans excited and take a step backward! Retooling around exciting young talent is a way to instill a whole new batch of hope into the fanbase. The more you hang around in the depths of mediocrity, the less captivated your fans will be. The unknown with Reese and Cardoso is far more appealing than the known Play-In Tournament berth.
Believe it or not, the Chicago Bulls finished the year better than expected. Sportsbooks had the Bulls’ over/under sitting somewhere around 36-37 heading into this season. Of course, they ended up finishing 39-43, which means they’ve joined 13 other teams in hitting the over. I can hear Arutras Karnisovas now: “Think about all that money we made you, everyone! You have continuity to thank for that!”
I have to admit, the fact the Bulls hit the over after starting 5-14 is at least somewhat respectable. I do genuinely believe that these players and coaches deserve credit for tightening the screws and avoiding a true catastrophe. This is especially true when we consider just how many injuries the team has dealt with. Say what you will about Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams, but those guys were expected to play big roles on this team. We all know what LaVine can do as a scorer, while Williams is one of the group’s best defenders. So does this mean I’m going to cut the front office some slack this offseason? Absolutely not. But I do think we can at least praise a lot of these players for their continued effort during a tumultuous season.
ICYMI: A report surfaced on Monday that has the Chicago Bulls, White Sox, and Blackhawks potentially joining Stadium after their deal with NBC Sports Chicago. Considering Stadium is primarily known for its online presence, this surely came as a shock to many. But they do seem to have the ability to expand their channel to more television markets, and they’re also located right inside the United Center. Still, this would be quite a change from what Chicago sports fans are used to. I also hope that Stadium would plan to bring over many of the faces we’ve some to love and NBC Sports. The network has a pretty outstanding cast of characters, and I’d hate to see any of them lose their current role on the beat.
Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.
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