A lot is riding on the Sky’s game against the Wings on Thursday at Wintrust Arena.
Of course, snapping the four-game losing streak is the top priority. However, another point of emphasis looms heavy: the 2025 pick swap the Wings control as part of former Sky coach/general manager James Wade’s trade for guard Marina Mabrey.
Right now, both teams are out of the playoff picture, which puts them both in the 2025 draft lottery. However, if the Sky (4-9) were to end up with a higher pick, the Wings (3-10) surely would implement the swap.
Meaning, there’s only one way to nullify the pick swap, and that’s by securing a playoff berth.
“You’re always conscious of what will affect your team in the short and long term,” Sky GM Jeff Pagliocca said. ‘‘But as far as the swap goes, we aren’t paying too much attention to it right now. We are preparing for Dallas like any other game and focusing on ourselves.”
There’s a lot for the Sky to focus on amid this skid, starting with the lack of execution.
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon took a step in attempting to remedy that problem by switching up the starting five. She swapped guard Dana Evans and swing player Diamond DeShields for guards Lindsay Allen and Chennedy Carter.
However, that wasn’t enough to secure a victory against the Fever last Sunday. Once again, the team faltered late in the game, committing errant fouls resulting in another single-digit loss.
Weatherspoon had back-to-back practices this week ahead of the game against the Wings. She expressed confidence in the productivity of both practices.
“It’s been great to have these two days of practice,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s so needed. It has been needed for a few games for us to get back between those four lines and have practice. That’s where things really start.”
In multiple respects, the Wings are in a more difficult position that the Sky five weeks into the season.
They have their own losing streak and have been hit hard by the injury bug. Their most recent addition to the injury report is forward Maddy Siegrist, who broke a finger on her non-shooting hand.
She suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Wings’ eighth consecutive loss Tuesday night. There is no timeline for her return. The Sky already have faced the Wings twice and will play them one more time in September.
The draft-lottery order is determined using the cumulative record over the previous two seasons of each of the four teams that fail to make the playoffs. The Wings finished last season 22-18, while the Sky narrowly made the postseason with an 18-22 record.
If both teams remain outside of the playoff picture, their 2024 record will be added to last season’s to determine their odds for winning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft. UConn guard Paige Bueckers is the early consensus No. 1 pick, however the Sky have no shot of getting her even if they end up in the lottery because of this swap.
The best possible outcome for the Sky this season would be to earn a playoff spot and lean on
Pagliocca to continue to build out the roster via free agency and even a potential trade.
At this point, all the Sky can focus on is attempting to get a win Thursday afternoon.