Sky’s new era is over before it even begins after trade of star Kahleah Copper

The Sky are headed in a new direction.

The precise phrase chairman Nadia Rawlinson employed during the introduction of new coach Teresa Weatherspoon mere months ago was “new era.” The rhetoric thrown around that day insinuated that this new era would liberate the Sky from their past identity, which left franchise stars such as Sylvia Fowles and Elena Delle Donne demanding trades and contributed to the failure to re-sign key players such as Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker.

With the news Tuesday that the team was trading franchise player Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury, it became clear that the Sky are heading in a new direction, but they lack a compass.

Copper signed an extension with the Sky just before the team’s regular-season finale against the Connecticut Sun last year. Her reason for waiting until the last possible moment to sign was a need for clarification on the franchise’s future.

“For me, a lot of things were up in the air,” Copper told the Sun-Times in September. “I understand y’all are figuring it out, but let’s just shake on the fact that you told me this is going to happen, this is going to happen and this is going to happen.”

Bringing in Weatherspoon was a decision Copper supported as evidenced by her attendance at the introductory news conference in October. She believed in the future Weatherspoon was depicting and was in tune with her coaching style.

So what happened in the last four months that took Copper from being the face of the franchise — the team was in the middle of promoting her with a YouTube series — to a player asking to be traded?

According to first-year general manager Jeff Pagliocca, the Sky took a big swing with their “Plan A,” an attempt to sign stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike to put around Copper.

They struck out and lost Copper — who formally requested a trade, according to multiple league sources — as a result.

League sources — including former Sky players — have told the Sun-Times that the franchise’s familial culture earned players’ loyalty, but ownership has a reputation for being cheap.

In the 2021 offseason, the Sky added post-practice meals and customized ice tubs and bolstered their coaching staff. They also invested in a $50,000 AlterG anti-gravity treadmill. But they’ve dragged their heels on investing in a top practice facility, forcing the team to practice out of a public rec center in Deerfield.

Ownership touted the search for the Sky’s own practice facility. According to sources, that search is ongoing.

Sky ownership sold a 10% stake in the franchise to a group of female investors, including Cubs co-owner and Red Stars principal owner Laura Ricketts, for $8.5 million. Weeks later, they brought in Dwyane Wade as a minority investor.

The Sky have been eager to publicize that their $85 million valuation is the second-highest in the league behind the Seattle Storm. The problem is, not every WNBA team has conducted a public valuation, skewing the reality of where the team actually stands.

Last year, former coach/GM James Wade postponed an inevitable rebuild with a desperate trade to acquire guard Marina Mabrey that rid the franchise of its draft capital.

In exchange for Copper and the rights to forward Morgan Bertsch, the Sky received the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, a first-round pick in 2026, a second-round pick in 2025 and the right to swap second-round picks in 2026. The Sky had owned that second-round pick in the 2025 draft, but Wade traded it away in the four-team deal for Mabrey.

They also obtained forwards Michaela Onyenwere and Brianna Turner.

The best asset the Sky acquired was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft. The problem is it might not be as valuable as it appears.

The top prospects in the draft — Caitlin Clark, Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Kamilla Cardoso and Cameron Brink — have another year of eligibility left. The Mercury’s willingness to part with the pick could be an indication that they believe the player they’re targeting is returning to school.

Can the Sky land one of those top prospects in 2025?

Not as things stand. Another casualty of the Mabrey trade was Wade giving the Dallas Wings the right to swap first-round picks in 2025.