The Chicago Sky are headed into a new season with quite a different roster. Some fans are enthusiastic, while others are not.

One of the most talked about moves was Angel Reese getting traded to the Atlanta Dream.

“​​She just brought so much culture to the team,” said Delaney Sulzer, a recent DePaul graduate.“She only had two seasons there, but I think her impact was, on and off the floor, just absolutely amazing.”

Ayanna Nepos, who has been a WNBA fan for the past four years, was not happy with the news.

“I was really sad about it,” said Nepos, a senior finance major. “I have an Angel shirt. I think that’s the only official (WNBA) merch I own.”

Vincent Peña, a sports communications professor at DePaul, said that he isn’t surprised Reese got traded.

“Factually speaking, she’s not a great scorer,” Peña said. “She does, obviously, get a lot of rebounds, and she plays good defense. Those are valuable things, but … when you’re the cornerstone of your franchise, you can’t just be a good rebounder and defender.”

With Reese gone, the Sky has acquired many players. 

The Sky traded Ariel Atkins for Rickea Jackson, who was previously on the Los Angeles Sparks. Jackson averaged 14.7 points per game and made 42.4% of her shots. 

The Sky picked Gabriela Jaquez at No. 5 in the WNBA draft. Her brother, Jaime Jaquez Jr., is in the NBA on the Miami Heat. They’re the first siblings of Mexican descent ever chosen by two big professional basketball leagues. 

The Sky signed free agent Skylar Diggins. She recently played for the Seattle Storm and is a seven-time All-Star. She averaged 15.5 points per game and six assists last season.

They also signed DiJonai Carrington. She was recently with the Minnesota Lynx and had a season-ending foot injury. She averaged 8.6 points in around 16 minutes per game.

“I think they’re going to bring a lot of experience and talent to the team,” said Sulzer, a Sky fan of three years. “There’s so many really exciting players that we have this year, so I’m excited to see them all.”

Peña believes that the Sky have made a lot of improvements this offseason.

“I think they’ll be a better team, primarily because it’s hard to get worse,” Peña said.

With a new roster and growing optimism surrounding the team, fans have high expectations.

“I have a lot of confidence,” Sulzer said. “I think we’ll be playing better than we have in the last few years.”

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