As the WNBA offseason kicks into high gear, the Chicago Sky took care of some important business on Monday night.
The organization extended qualifying offers to three players ahead of free agency, which opens officially on Jan. 21. Michaela Onyenwere and Dana Evans each received a QO and forward Nikolina Milic received a reserved QO. In other words, the Sky will now have the right to match any offer that Onyenwere or Evans receive in the open market, while Milic will only have the option to negotiate with the Sky.
Nonetheless, the real news here isn’t who earned a QO but rather who didn’t. Chennedy Carter’s name is shockingly absent from the transaction log despite having a career year. The 26-year-old guard was Chicago’s leading scorer, averaging 17.5 points per game on a career-high 48.7 percent shooting from the field. Among players who scored at least 500 points last season, Carter held the 5th-highest field goal percentage behind stars like A’ja Wilson, Naphessa Collier, Dearica Hamby, and Nneka Ogwumike, respectively.
Carter’s combination of explosive speed and crafty ball-handling felt like a much-needed tool for a team building around two young frontcourt players. Not only could she carry a lot of the scoring load, but she helped establish a pace of play. With that in mind, it sure feels strange that they would forgo any opportunity to control Carter’s destiny. She isn’t typically the kind of asset – especially at 26 years old – that rebuilding organizations simply let go.
Sky Letting Chennedy Carter Walk?
The Chicago Sun Times’ Annie Costabile shared some more details on the front office’s decision-making, but I’m not quite sure fans are going to like the explanation:
“The outward perception is that the offer comes with little risk, considering the terms. Opting not the make the offer confirms the Sky’s reservations regarding Carter’s impact on the team’s culture on and off the court.
Carter led the Sky in scoring with 17.5 points per game, but there were questions throughout the season regarding her overall commitment to the team,” Costabile wrote.
I encourage you to read Costabile’s full article here for additional context.
Can the Sky still decide to hand Carter a QO and avoid letting her hit unrestricted free agency? Yes, they have until Jan. 20 to do so. But the fact she wasn’t involved in the initial wave certainly makes it feel far more likely that they let her walk.
On the one hand, for a team in transition, I can understand the importance of establishing a culture. There is no ignoring the fact that Carter has had her issues on and off the court. Before joining the Sky, Carter was suspended by the Atlanta Dream in her second season due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” She was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Sparks, where things didn’t get a whole lot better. After Carter was benched during the 2022 season due to “poor conduct,” the Sparks waived her. Carter was not picked up by another team and ended up playing the 2023 season overseas before joining the Sky in 2024.
On the other hand, there is no denying Carter’s talent. She has the potential to be among the most exciting scorers in the league while simultaneously providing some high-energy defense. As long as a team can harness the chip on her shoulder for good, there is a lot to like. Nevertheless, I guess the Sky are not interested in being that team. Could new head coach Tyler Marsh have something to do with that? For what it’s worth, he also did talk about a desire to shoot a lot more threes moving forward, which isn’t necessarily Carter’s strong suit.
Still, is this the right way to handle the situation? Even if the Sky have their questions about Carter, I’m not sure that warrants ZERO qualifying offer after a career season. Worse comes to worse you have an elite scorer on a very team-friendly deal OR you can find a sign-and-trade partner in free agency. Especially when we consider GM Jeff Pagliocca appears eager to compete at a higher level next season, dumping your top scorer doesn’t seem like a wise move.
Free agency will answer a lot of our questions. Perhaps this move indicates that Chicago plans to be ultra-aggressive in landing a new starting guard over the next couple of weeks. The Sky should have the third-most cap space in the league, and they also have a No. 3 pick in the draft to dangle in the trade market. Big-name guards like Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell are both available this summer, while veteran Jewell Lloyd has asked the Storm for a trade. All would be excellent fits … but none will be easy to land.
The pressure is on, Sky!
Ps: I find it funny that as this news drops, Chennedy Carter is balling out …