The Chicago Sky erased the final lingering mistake from the James Wade era Wednesday, trading Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick and the right to swap 2026 first-round picks. The Sky also sent their 2025 second-round pick to the Sun.
Midseason trades ahead of the Aug. 20 deadline are rare in the WNBA, but the Sky have begun to move with more urgency since hiring coach Teresa Weatherspoon and general manager Jeff Pagliocca last fall.
Trading Mabrey marks a dramatic shift for the Sky, who previously placed the shooting guard as the centerpiece of their offensive future. Mabrey began the season as the Sky’s leading scorer and has taken 46% of the 3-point attempts for the league’s worst-shooting team behind the arc.
So why would the Sky trade away one of their most prolific players just as they’re beginning to gain some breathing room for a playoff spot?
In the short term, Banham should help offset the loss of Mabrey behind the 3-point arc, where Mabrey was averaging 1.1 makes on 34.8% shooting this season. But this isn’t a trade aimed simply at making the Sky better this season. It reflects a focus on the future of the team, which is recalibrating with rookie bigs Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese as its center of gravity.
Mabrey is in the second season of a three-year, $620,000 contract that has been the heaviest weight on the Sky’s books since last year’s sign-and-trade deal. That was the final failure of a dismal exit year for Wade, the former coach and GM who emptied the Sky’s coffers of draft picks to acquire Mabrey, then signed her to a hefty deal with the expectation she would become a franchise-catalyzing scorer in Chicago.
Although Mabrey provided a scoring boost last season, her 15 points per game and 39% 3-point shooting weren’t enough to offset other weaknesses in the offense. And her shooting slump this season only highlighted the gamble Wade took.
When Weatherspoon briefly benched Mabrey in clutch minutes earlier this month, it emphasized the disparity between Mabrey’s contract and her perceived value on the court.
The Sky are already on the mend from that trade. Pagliocca has steadily recouped draft stock through trades, including the Nos. 3 and 7 picks used to select Cardoso and Reese this year. Moving Mabrey to Connecticut is the final piece of breaking away from that blunder.
The price of being a Chicago Sky fan just went up. Where will the money go?
This trade might not give the Sky much of a lift heading into the final playoff push after the Olympic break. Banham is shooting more efficiently this season but at a lower volume, and Mabrey is more proven throughout her career behind the arc — and served as a team leader even during her shooting slumps.
But the Sky are in a growth period that makes short-term results less crucial. If they make the playoffs — they have a three-game lead over the Atlanta Dream for the eighth and final spot — that would offer a beneficial opportunity for young players such as Reese, Cardoso and Chennedy Carter to gain their first postseason experiences.
If not, the Sky would land a lottery pick next year — and now they can approach future drafts with their losses mostly recovered.
