PHOENIX — From the moment Marina Mabrey arrived in Chicago by way of a trade executed by former Sky coach/general manager James Wade, it wasn’t a fit.
Wade gave away two first-round picks, the rights to a first-round pick swap, the player rights to Leonie Fiebich, and two second- and third-round picks in the four-team trade that landed Mabrey ahead of the 2023 season. Months later, he was gone after accepting an assistant coaching job with the Raptors.
From the beginning, Mabrey’s arrival in Chicago was Wade’s forced attempt to avoid a rebuild and keep the Sky on track to contend in the playoffs. His midseason exit only exacerbated her poor fit. Just before the halfway point this year, it was expressed to Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca that Mabrey wanted out, according to multiple league sources.
Pagliocca’s return for Mabrey comes with legitimate concerns. The first is the acquisition of guard Moriah Jefferson.
Jefferson underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right ankle on June 24 for a nagging injury. The Sun’s press release at the time stated she’d be reevaluated in three weeks to assess her return to play. According to one league source, she is expected to return healthy in the second half.
Before her surgery, she averaged 2.1 points while playing 6.7 minutes. She’s a 39% career three-point shooter, averaging just two attempts per game.
At this point, the acquisition of Jefferson looks more like a successful offloading of a bad contract by the Sun. Jefferson is on a protected veteran contract valued at $141,500 this year and $145,500 in 2025.
Next, is the concern regarding the Sky’s poor three-point shooting. Mabrey accounted for more than half of the Sky’s production from behind the arc. While trading her wasn’t a calculated decision by Pagliocca, her request still requires a valuable three-point return. Pagliocca is betting on guard Rachel Banham to provide that.
The Sky had attempted the fewest threes in the WNBA, even with Mabrey. While Banham is a 37% career three-point shooter, she only averaged at most four attempts per game. That was in 2022 with the Lynx.
In 21 games for the Sun, Banham averaged 4.8 points, shooting 34.8% on three-pointers and playing an average of 12.9 minutes. On July 14, Banham scored a season-high 24 points, shooting 8-for-11 on threes.
That kind of performance is what Pagliocca believes she can turn in consistently if given the minutes.
While this wasn’t a strategic decision by Pagliocca to put the Sky in a better spot to make the postseason and merely a response to a player’s desire to leave, the draft capital he acquired has the biggest upside.
The Sky received the Sun’s 2025 first-round pick and the rights to swap the 2026 first-round pick acquired in the Kahleah Copper trade. Pagliocca also gave up the Sky’s 2025 second-round pick.
The Sun’s 2025 first-round pick might not prove to have much value, considering they are in title contention.
However, the 2026 pick swap could end up paying substantial dividends as DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas and Brionna Jones all will become free agents in January.
If the Sun’s core breaks up that could lead to a lottery pick for the Sky in 2026.
Mabrey’s trade request is the latest in a long line of players who have wanted out of Chicago. The list includes MVP Sylvia Fowles, two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne and 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper.
All of them had varying reasons for their desire to be dealt. Nonetheless, it paints a jarring picture of a franchise’s inability to keep stars happy.