In a parking lot a mile southeast of Midway airport, a giant white tent provided cover over about 75 white folding chairs.
Inside supporters gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Sky’s new practice facility, which is still more than a year away from opening. Sky ownership wanted the focus to be on the future, which they believe is headed in the right direction despite a series of failures in the three years since their title season.
Their latest — the hiring and subsequent firing of Teresa Weatherspoon after only 11 months on the job — brings up only one question that matters: Who will be the team’s next head coach?
“We will be as forthright as we can,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said when asked what the franchise will say to candidates with questions about why the team fired Weatherspoon so abruptly. “There’s some stuff that, of course, we want to keep in-house.”
It was only a year ago that Sky ownership concluded a limited coaching search and ultimately decided they wanted to take a chance with Weatherspoon, who had no prior head coaching experience in the WNBA. The reality turned out to be, though, they were more focused on winning last year’s press conference after the mid-season departure of championship-winning coach James Wade.
What transpired due to their hasty hiring approach was a season that spiraled into chaos, resulting in a 13-27 record and the team’s first missed postseason since 2018.
Instead of Sky ownership adequately addressing their misstep during its first availability to reporters since the firing — operating chairman and co-owner Nadia Rawlinson telling reporters, “We’re actually here to talk about the practice facility,” when asked — it was left to Pagliocca, who was hired nearly three weeks after Weatherspoon.
“We want to make sure we’re continuing our quest for a championship and being in the playoffs every single season,” Pagliocca said. “It was something that we felt we needed to do.”
From the beginning, it was clear that Weatherspoon’s inexperience would be a difficult hurdle to overcome. She had just six seasons of head coaching experience, though that was at the college level, when she helmed Louisiana Tech from 2009 to 2014.
Weatherspoon’s inability to keep the team schematically prepared was evidenced by her rotations and poor late-game play calls. Her failure to maximize rookie Kamilla Cardoso, their No. 3 pick, on offense also came into question.
According to multiple league sources, Weatherspoon had completely lost the locker room due to a culture created that catered to the needs of a few players.
“Every locker room goes through their ups and downs,” center Elizabeth Williams said on Wednesday. “There’s always growing pains, whether it’s with younger players or with a new coach. That was the general sentiment.”
Williams added that she felt everybody “liked each other” and had a good relationship off the court.
Multiple league sources had previously told the Sun-Times that free agents were skeptical of joining the Sky. Wednesday, Pagliocca acknowledged the team had heard “things along those lines” due to Weatherspoon’s lack of professional head coaching experience. However, league sources have said that Sky’s reputation is another factor that creates disinterest from free agents.
According to multiple league sources, Stephanie White isn’t expected to return to coach the Sun in 2025. To attract White, who will be highly sought after if available, the Sky would have to be willing to spend money like the Mercury and Aces.
Both franchises set a new bar regarding their head coach’s salary. According to Front Office Sports, Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts is the highest-paid coach in the WNBA, making just over $1 million per year. Becky Hammon is second, making $1 million per year. Lynx coach and president of basketball operations Cheryl Reeve is third according to FOS making $700,000.
Beyond White, coaching candidates the Sky will look to interview include former Sparks coach Curt Miller and former Dream coach Tanisha Wright.
Wednesday was a step towards becoming a more attactive spot for top players and coaches. However, it will take time to correct league-wide opinions that the Sky is not a serious franchise.