Sky training – Courtney Vandersloot, Azura Stevens, and new talent aim to reset the WNBA Sky after years of disruption. Fans are skeptical—can the roster and coach deliver?
CHICAGO—There are two emotions taking shape at Sky training camp this week: hunger to reclaim the standard of 2021, and wariness that the franchise might repeat the same cycle under a new label of “reset.”
The Sky’s title team in 2021 is now the measuring stick. and leaders like Courtney Vandersloot and Azura Stevens have the kind of drive that doesn’t fade with the standings.. Their presence also carries a reminder: the franchise has already proven it can win when everything aligns—health. roster continuity. coaching clarity. and a shared sense of purpose.
But the other feeling belongs to the team’s front office—coach Tyler Marsh and general manager Jeff Pagliocca—who talk openly about wanting a fresh start.. The difficulty is that the path to that fresh start has come with visible friction: losing seasons. coaching turnover. and lingering uncertainty around a practice facility that. per the team’s own timeline promises. still isn’t ready.. When those setbacks pile up, patience gets expensive.. Even when the organization makes moves that look sensible on paper. fans have learned to ask whether “sensible” will finally become “successful.”
That tension is the backdrop for a roster built to chase optimism quickly.. Pagliocca and Marsh have assembled a mix they believe can play together in Tyler’s system. anchored by a new frontcourt pairing of Kamilla Cardoso and Rickea Jackson and reinforced by a backcourt that includes Skylar Diggins alongside Vandersloot.. There’s also the addition of Gabriela Jaquez. coming in fresh off an NCAA title at UCLA and already being talked about as a meaningful piece rather than a long-term project.
The most consequential roster move in recent memory has been the blockbuster trade involving Angel Reese. which Pagliocca addressed at length during camp media availability.. From the general manager’s perspective. the process wasn’t a last-minute shakeup so much as an ongoing negotiation that remained in constant contact with Reese and her camp after the season.. Conversations with Atlanta, he said, reflected a fit that was particularly favorable for Reese and ultimately for the organization.
On the return. Pagliocca was blunt about the threshold: the Sky wouldn’t move Reese unless the package met their standard.. Two first-round picks are rare enough that it’s easy to see why that mattered.. For fans. though. it raises the inevitable question—if the cost is high and the promise is big. why does the team still need to convince people to believe?
Pagliocca also addressed what he called the non-contentious nature of the trade. including the timing after Reese’s suspension last season.. His message to the public was that the team had closed that chapter and moved forward.. That phrasing is meant to reassure. but it doesn’t fully erase the emotional memory many supporters carry: the Sky has spent years watching roster plans evolve faster than results.
Still, the trade wasn’t framed as a single issue or a single mistake.. It was described as a broader roster-balance move tied to how the coaching staff wants to play.. When asked whether the “Twin Towers” concept—Reese paired with Cardoso—failed. Pagliocca pointed to the reality of professional basketball: systems change. people change. and fit is never permanent.. A pairing can look dominant in some games yet become mismatched once the scheme shifts.. The key. then. is not whether a concept once worked. but whether this organization has built the correct set of pieces for the next version of the team.
That “next version” is where camp energy becomes more than a feel-good slogan.. Jackson’s comments offered a rare glimpse into the human side of roster turnover—how a player adapts when she feels wanted. seen. and guided by a coaching staff that believes in her.. She described an eagerness to work for Marsh and Pagliocca and suggested that part of what she’s seeking in this stage of her career is a consistent sense of belonging.
This is where the story becomes larger than one trade or one training camp.. For any franchise that has gone through public resets. rebuilding isn’t only about acquiring talent—it’s about rebuilding trust.. Players want clarity; fans want accountability; front offices want flexibility.. Those goals can conflict, especially when years of disruption make the margin for error thin.
In the Sky’s case, the league landscape adds another layer.. The WNBA’s 30th season is expanding its visibility and reaching audiences through a range of major national outlets. including ABC/ESPN. CBS. Amazon Prime Video. ION. NBC. USA Sports. and NBA TV.. More exposure usually means more scrutiny. and for a team trying to break a pattern of disappointment. that spotlight can be both an opportunity and a pressure cooker.
The early camp focus also includes a practical detail: the team is short-handed, which means a high draft pick can have a clearer runway to contribute immediately. When rosters are in transition, opportunity can accelerate development faster than any offseason plan.
The question hanging over all of this—whether this time will be different—may not be answered in a few practices.. But camp is where the organization’s new language meets its first real test: effort. alignment. and willingness to run the same plays the same way.. If Cardoso and Jackson can become more than a preseason idea. and if Marsh’s system takes hold without constant disruption. the Sky’s reset might finally move from narrative to results.