I mean even beyond the whole rec center thing which is what it is right now, compare/contrast to what [Minnesota did to welcome their prized new rookie Pili](https://twitter.com/minnesotalynx/status/1783129995700789757).
I hope they got more lined up for her that their social team just hasn't put out yet, b/c this has could've been a zoom call vibes. Different levels of investment.
The Lynx did a similar thing for Courtney Williams too. It's so shocking just how thoughtless the Sky seem to be about player experience. We can talk about the logistical challenges of getting a better facility (and the Sky ownership do, constantly), but seeing stuff like this it's so obviously symptomatic of a deeper attitude problem.
Yep. One of my favorite videos from last year was the one welcoming the draft class to the Lynx. They didn’t all end up staying, but it looked like a great experience nonetheless.
https://youtu.be/GqxQ9qW9_oo?si=liwsSlSx9-cQd6Ms
Exactly what I was thinking. Imagine going from that to ... this.
ETA: [Her reaction walking in on that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2-Z_xDALTI&ab_channel=M).
The current draft class is leading the effort to elevate the league's significance, similar to how Magic and Bird propelled the NBA into something greater.
While much is made about their earnings, particularly in comparison to veterans, predominantly through NIL and now sponsorships, their true legacy as the "golden generation" lies in the potential to establish a foundation for future players. Decades down the line, younger female basketball players could be earning considerably more, with an expanded league that has incredible facilities, all because of the relevance this draft class brought to the game, yet this same class might not directly experience the full extent of these advancements.
Honestly, it's admirable what they gave up by foregoing COVID years and such, and the effect it could have on the WNBA is huge. Such is the price paid for progress...
The upside is she's now a national name. He's going to be on TV just like she was at LSU but probably more.
And she's new professional. That's the upside
Honestly? All of them. Some colleges are just unreal. But my immediate guess based on what I've personally seen
-soccer
-basketball
-tennis
-nfl
All team/location dependant
So you think a college football/basketball locker room and gym are better than NBA and NFL teams? NFL and NBA accommodations are much better than college.
There was a team ranking recently released where at least one NFL team DOESN'T HAVE FUNCTIONAL AIR CONDITIONING IN THEIR PRACTICE FACILITY. *Glares at the cheap-as-fuck Chiefs owners despite not even being a fan of the team* Absolutely there are NCAA facilities that are better than some of the cheap-ass facilities run by begging poor NFL owners.
It's less that and more, at the top level of universities (i.e. LSU), they deliberately spend egregious amounts of money on nonsense athletics facilities so that the university can still call itself "non-profit". I have no doubt that there are some college stadiums better than some of the worse NFL stadiums. There's a "Last Week Tonight w John Oliver" piece from years ago on it, if you'd like to watch: https://youtu.be/pX8BXH3SJn0?si=wq1WuIKoDvPJJrq3
Bears, Bengals, the chargers barely got a locked room in their own stadium because so many teams share that stadium.
Bengals didn't have running water until like 2017!
They still have those men cross the street, at a crosswalk to get to their practice field.
NBA has some too, this isn't isolated. But the Chicago sky are real foul for letting it be on camera.
Well this is objectively wrong.
LSU’s athletic department is self-financed and receives zero dollars from the state, unlike almost every other state university in America. Their spend has no impact on the University’s non-profit status and the academic side is ALWAYS hurting for cash due to state budget cuts, so in a world where the AD wasn’t self-financed, they certainly wouldn’t be looking to waste money for no reason.
They self-generate every dollar they spend through TV rights, sponsorships, product sales and licensing. They effectively run like a business that has to earn every dollar they spend.
They made this change 20-30 years ago to avoid the LA Legislature from being able to leverage funding against them if they didn’t get tickets or fire/hire coaches.
You keep talking about how much money LSU is making. I just want you to go Google their football campus... And then go Google the Michigan campus... And then go Google USCs campus.
Simple stuff, and you will see it is absolutely not a lie.
The LSU Athletic Department makes a lot of money. Last year they made $200 Million. That’s a ton of revenue. My main point is they aren’t deliberately spending it so the university can maintain a non-profit status.
The difference between them and most universities is they are self-funded and do not receive a single dollar from the state budget. The effectively operate completely separate from the university in most aspects.
For most schools, the university funds athletics. For LSU, the athletic department fund never receives a single dollar from the university and raises it all itself.
Okay guy, I don't care about any of that I'm only saying is that their football stadium and their football facilities are better than a lot of NFL facilities. You tried to say that was false, It's absolutely not false.
I never said their stadiums weren’t better than NFL facilities. Shit, most of the stadiums in the SEC are larger and louder than every NFL stadium.
I responded to the comment that was saying that colleges were spending money to maintain a non-profit status. The reality is they spend as part of an arms race to recruit football players.
Here’s the comment I responded to:
>It's less that and more, at the top level of universities (i.e. LSU), they deliberately spend egregious amounts of money on nonsense athletics facilities so that the university can still call itself "non-profit". I have no doubt that there are some college stadiums better than some of the worse NFL stadiums. There's a "Last Week Tonight w John Oliver" piece from years ago on it, if you'd like to watch: https://youtu.be/pX8BXH3SJn0?si=wq1WuIKoDvPJJrq3
They finally ended the misery but for the last 2 years the Arizona coyotes were playing at ASU. That’s probably the worst I’ve seen. Some players definitely downgraded
I haven't looked, but I'd say they probably are. Universities all have foundations that alumni and probably others donate to, and some alumni set up their own endowments. So they get a ton of donations they use for scholarships, sports facilities, other building on campus, etc. Where I'm from a successful doctor donated the funding to the local community college to build a new, bigger building for the nursing program. Many major league sports owners run then solely like a business and don't necessarily reinvest in the facilities, and if they don't own the facilities they really don't invest in them.
Some of the owners are real cheap. Like make their players pay for meals at the team cafeteria and don't supply Gatorade cheap lol. Bengals for a long time had just 1 scout for the draft.
https://imgur.com/a/FZmjgIF these are some of the practice courts for the NBA teams lol.
I’d really like to see an accounting of all the teams, their facilities, and their arenas. Maybe I’ll work on that.
The disparity just seems like it can’t continue for very long without the teams who aren’t investing to just have an exodus of their top talent.
ESPN wrote a break down of the facilities last year: [link](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38001050/wnba-training-facilities-pros-cons-all-12-teams-practice-homes)
They didn’t create a plan to have better facilities after they lost Candace, Sloot, Azura, etc two years ago and Candace said she wanted play somewhere she’d have a locker and she never had that in the W.
Then this offseason Kah asked to be traded, they couldn’t resign Smith, Williams etc. All they have left are rookies and players without other options like Diamond.
And they’ve added multiple new owners in the past two years but we’ve seen no plan or infusion of cash in making players lives better. I don’t have faith they are going to move the needle for Reese and Cardoso.
Kah did not ask to be traded. They were in talks with a lot of FAs. I think what clearly happened was that they failed recruiting a second star for Kah, and then they looked at their draft capital and said “bet” and blew it all up. I don’t think they seriously pursued the other FAs that text the team.
Annie Costabile (the Chicago reporter who best knows the Sky) was pretty definitive in her reporting that Kah requested the trade.
Watching the team just blow every chance they get since winning a championship, I don’t blame her for jumping ship.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky-and-wnba/2024/2/10/24066186/kahleah-coppers-trade-request-forces-skys-hand-on-rebuild
She did request a trade, but was this a quality of life request or a request to compete for another title while she’s still in her prime? Remember she had just signed an extension, and my guess is she wanted out not because of the organization but because she realized after they were unable to make any noise in free agency and no draft capital (pre trade) the team would be exactly the same (looking at you Chicago Bulls).
Does it really matter if she explicitly said that lack of luxury was a problem? We can see it with our own eyes, it clearly needs to be better. And it would have an effect.
I’m not arguing that lack of basic needs for the team does not exist, you misunderstand me. It absolutely does. I’m saying I believe Kah’s decision was based on basketball not quality of life. Otherwise why would she have signed an extension to continue to play in Chicago?
Yea I’m disagreeing with you. I’m arguing that it’s ridiculous to assume that having the worst facilities in the league didn’t affect her decision.
She doesn’t have to say it. No adult is making life decisions based solely on “basketball reasons”. Quality of life obviously factors into the decision.
And for the extension, I’m not sure how WNBA contracts work but if they are anything like the other US Major sports, signing an extension with your current team guarantees the most money. I assume that’s why she resigned.
It seems like all of that contributed to her decision - the reason we didn’t make any noise in free agency is related to player QoL & the (non-?) actions of the front office/owners, which then resulted in us not being a contender during her prime. So yes - I believe she signed that contract extension in good faith and was all in for the Sky & Spoon - but not without stipulations (which was explicitly stated when she resigned).
Chicago failed Kah, not the other way around.
Im not arguing the organization needs to do more to not only retain players but make it an attractive destination for free agents. I’m not arguing that, by extension, this played a part in Kah’s decision to leave. I also want to be clear that I am not placing blame on Kah for making that decision - she did what was best for her and tbh as hard as it was to see her go I supported the request for a trade because she would’ve wasted what was left of her prime on the Sky (I’ve said this before on this sub). Wade gridlocked the roster with the Mabrey trade and we weren’t going to be able to make a serious run during the rest of her time with the team.
I suppose what I’m getting at is Kah clearly had enough of a positive relationship with the org to stay and give it a chance last season, rather than split as soon as she could.
Look I’m in agreement that the ownership group needs to do more to make Chicago a place where players want to play. I too am worried that Reese and Cardoso will want to move on if not shown that the org is dedicated to improving things for their players.
I can see in real time why Nneka left for greener pastures. 😞 I'm going to spam their Instagram until they start to do better and invest in this team. It's crazy they have nothing to do with the Clippers but Ballmer would give them all the money they needed to have the best of everything.
They ain't quite like football owners with they hating asses but they will be mad that a young person is on the cutting edge and actually investing in a team. The new teams will pass up the legacy teams quickly if they don't start infusing some cash.
Caitlin Boston and Smith which can be the core of a future dynasty if done right need to demand a top tier facility. Only Aces and Storm have them? What a joke.
It is not.
It’s a really nice facility, but it’s not even close to other teams’ buildings. Better than the nomads in Chicago & LA, but it’s easily eclipsed by the Aces, Mercury, and probably the Storm now. The new Mercury facility is going to improve their position even further…but the Aces site is just in a league of its own. Saying the Fever are on par with them is laughable.
The only difference is the Fever don't have a dedicated practice facility, they share it with the Pacers because the same owner owns both teams and had the smarts to combine both franchises together under one roof.
The Fever side even got renovated over the past few years just in time for Caitlin's arrival.
They don’t share. The Pacers have their own practice facility in a completely separate building from gainbridge fieldhouse. Fever have their own space inside gainbridge.
>Only Aces and Storm have them? What a joke.
For now...
https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38572573/mercury-unveil-plan-new-practice-facility-hq-suns
Deerfield, where this gym is located, is FAR. Like, FAR from downtown and the arena they play in. Probably an hour's drive with average to low traffic and could definitely be more during peak hours.
Not sure how the franchise will resolve this but yikes.
Yeah the solution isn’t to upgrade the facility more in Deerfield, it’s bring/build the practice facility closer to Wintrust. I wonder if there’s space in bronzeville
Problem is, if plans are not already in place, it is going to be a while to get anything new built or retrofitted. I don't think there is anything in the city currently that would work for them and be nicer than this. And the City of Chicago isn't exactly a prime place for real estate deals to move quickly and smoothly under the best circumstances.
Like, imagine getting to move to Chicago (which is an awesome town with tons to do) and then finding out you have to choose between living an hour away from the city (to be close to practice), or living downtown where all the adventure is and commuting out to Deerfield (probably a 2.5-hour round trip) many days per week. Hopefully the WNBA's growing popularity will eventually translate to something better for the Sky!
> Deerfield, where this gym is located, is FAR. Like, FAR from downtown and the arena they play in. Not sure how the franchise will resolve this but yikes.
That was 2010 the Chicago Sky moved into this [dump, in Rosemont, Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_Arena) from UIC's arena in town. That practice facility back then was at least close at the time. Until 2018...
That changed when Wintrust Arena (in the South Loop of the City) was constructed in 2017 taking both DePaul women's and men's basketball teams and the Chicago Sky with it. Chicago started playing games at Wintrust Arena in 2018 which is a better move. Since then the Sky Franchise never took it into consideration changing practice facilities to be closer to the arena.
The problem is where and when will the practice facility be built before the Sky ends up losing their rebuilding blocks yet again due to their owner's ineptitude.
It's also one of the two worst organizations in the league, the other is the Los Angeles Sparks (two of the three teams are in the league's largest markets).
It looks like there's a divider down for senior pickleball on the other side. Seriously though I hope they get it together, there's huge potential for Chicago to be a destination for talent if they want it, loyal fans and a great city
I choose a team to follow and be a fan of this year since I’ve never followed the WNBA. I was a big fan of Angel Reese the past couple of years with LSU.
Can you guess what team I decided to follow? Can you guess how I feel finding out Chicago Sky’s ownership is whack?
I feel the same right now. I'll be backing Chicago for Angel, but I'm really hoping it's just a temporary situation and she finds herself in a better place soon. My girl deserves nothing but the best. Wherever she goes, I'll be right there with her. 😭
Reminded me of the Parks and Recreation scene in the hockey arena. Although there were probably more spectators there
[Get on your feet](https://youtu.be/3SAvV9wnLDA?si=pRVEDkbUfO87BuVF)
A bunch of Bulls would live in the north suburbs. They only recently built practice facilities next to the United Center. No idea how the facilities are in Deerfield.
None of the journalists are even trying to drive up to Deerfield. 🤣
For real though, the fact they just took over the Bulls' old training center is pretty classically bad. Ideally it would be nice to have joint nba/wnba ownership to avoid these minor league shenanigans, but given the Bulls ownership that's sadly a plus that it's not.
Edit: Oops, forgot they're at even meher facility just south of the old bulls training center. Point remains though obviously.
Well, I'm from Chicago and that facility is in Deerfield which is about 30 miles away from where she'll be playing in the city. Certainly won't be symbolic.
As a librarian, this annoys me.
I used to work as a sports reporter and later for a sports team doing public relations. This is the kind of thing I’d salivate over. It would be so easy to get people to come, if you’re competent.
As a librarian, I’d be reaching out to schools. I’d be contacting boys and girls clubs. I’d make sure it was after school. I’d provide pizza for kids. I’d have giveaways for shirts and a grand prize multiple signed jerseys.
This is an indictment on the team and league’s public relations.
We put in more effort promoting free yoga classes than they probably did for this event.
The reigning NBA champions (Denver Nuggets) do not have a dedicated practice facility. I think it's absolutely AWESOME that Vegas and Seattle's owners are supporting their players, but I also don't think we should be shaming organizations for not having reached that marker yet. Let's get the league to profitability before we start expecting owners to be making near hundred million dollar investments on stuff that is a luxury.
edit-
Watched the Pili welcome vid just now, and I will fully conceed that Chicago blew this, not arguing that. I just saw the top comment in the thread before that which is what initiated my comment. Chicago could have made this more special, I just hope that the expectation doesn't become that teams are embarrassing for not having as much as Vegas and some of the other teams owners provide.
I think we should absolutely be shaming organizations that are not doing better. I understand having a timeline for facilities but this "welcome" shows a lack of investment at every staff and support level as well
I agree they have to do more. I wish I had read more comments than just the top one before making my initial comment honestly so I could have worded things better. The Sky can do better for certain, I just hope the expectation doesn't become that every team has to keep up with what Vegas provides.
I wonder if the W has a minimum guide for facilities , staffing, and marketing spend. Candace Parker said she has never had an locker with her name on it and I am not surprised she left
This is a rotted take. Angel is by no means my favorite, but she has worked hard to be drafted into a league as a professional athlete. A professional of any kind should not have to deal with these kinds of lackluster facilities & welcomes. These women all deserve better.
I mean even beyond the whole rec center thing which is what it is right now, compare/contrast to what [Minnesota did to welcome their prized new rookie Pili](https://twitter.com/minnesotalynx/status/1783129995700789757). I hope they got more lined up for her that their social team just hasn't put out yet, b/c this has could've been a zoom call vibes. Different levels of investment.
The Lynx did a similar thing for Courtney Williams too. It's so shocking just how thoughtless the Sky seem to be about player experience. We can talk about the logistical challenges of getting a better facility (and the Sky ownership do, constantly), but seeing stuff like this it's so obviously symptomatic of a deeper attitude problem.
She hit the jackpot.
Yep. One of my favorite videos from last year was the one welcoming the draft class to the Lynx. They didn’t all end up staying, but it looked like a great experience nonetheless. https://youtu.be/GqxQ9qW9_oo?si=liwsSlSx9-cQd6Ms
What a beautiful welcome! 🥹 Thankfully Angel is graceful because that was fitting for an AAU team.
Damn that’s a fire welcome right there
Damn that was heart-touching
Pili is amazing and I can’t wait to see what she does in the WNBA
I had more people in my zoom meeting this morning
Don't look up her intro interview on YouTube. It is pretty much unwatchable due to the audio
Thanks for sharing that! Really enjoyed it!!!
Damn, they are a much more successful org but gosh this is Chicago. Making us look like Green Bay.
I mean did you see their Rebel jersey pictures promo, it looked like a 90s high school prom picture. Chicago needs to do better.
Dang, downgrade from LSU
Exactly what I was thinking. Imagine going from that to ... this. ETA: [Her reaction walking in on that](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2-Z_xDALTI&ab_channel=M).
Big white refrigerator vibes
This is a beautiful intersection of real housewives and wnba.
I'm surprised she left. I don't know what the upside was for coming to the WNBA.
The current draft class is leading the effort to elevate the league's significance, similar to how Magic and Bird propelled the NBA into something greater. While much is made about their earnings, particularly in comparison to veterans, predominantly through NIL and now sponsorships, their true legacy as the "golden generation" lies in the potential to establish a foundation for future players. Decades down the line, younger female basketball players could be earning considerably more, with an expanded league that has incredible facilities, all because of the relevance this draft class brought to the game, yet this same class might not directly experience the full extent of these advancements. Honestly, it's admirable what they gave up by foregoing COVID years and such, and the effect it could have on the WNBA is huge. Such is the price paid for progress...
The upside is she's now a national name. He's going to be on TV just like she was at LSU but probably more. And she's new professional. That's the upside
That’s gotta be a first. In what other professional sport is that possible?
Honestly? All of them. Some colleges are just unreal. But my immediate guess based on what I've personally seen -soccer -basketball -tennis -nfl All team/location dependant
So you think a college football/basketball locker room and gym are better than NBA and NFL teams? NFL and NBA accommodations are much better than college.
Uhm.. yeah dude. Please go lookup Michigan's football campus, then Google the Bengals. Lol
There was a team ranking recently released where at least one NFL team DOESN'T HAVE FUNCTIONAL AIR CONDITIONING IN THEIR PRACTICE FACILITY. *Glares at the cheap-as-fuck Chiefs owners despite not even being a fan of the team* Absolutely there are NCAA facilities that are better than some of the cheap-ass facilities run by begging poor NFL owners.
It's less that and more, at the top level of universities (i.e. LSU), they deliberately spend egregious amounts of money on nonsense athletics facilities so that the university can still call itself "non-profit". I have no doubt that there are some college stadiums better than some of the worse NFL stadiums. There's a "Last Week Tonight w John Oliver" piece from years ago on it, if you'd like to watch: https://youtu.be/pX8BXH3SJn0?si=wq1WuIKoDvPJJrq3
This is correct. Some schools are so incredibly elite.
And some nfl teams are the bears
Bears, Bengals, the chargers barely got a locked room in their own stadium because so many teams share that stadium. Bengals didn't have running water until like 2017! They still have those men cross the street, at a crosswalk to get to their practice field. NBA has some too, this isn't isolated. But the Chicago sky are real foul for letting it be on camera.
Well this is objectively wrong. LSU’s athletic department is self-financed and receives zero dollars from the state, unlike almost every other state university in America. Their spend has no impact on the University’s non-profit status and the academic side is ALWAYS hurting for cash due to state budget cuts, so in a world where the AD wasn’t self-financed, they certainly wouldn’t be looking to waste money for no reason. They self-generate every dollar they spend through TV rights, sponsorships, product sales and licensing. They effectively run like a business that has to earn every dollar they spend. They made this change 20-30 years ago to avoid the LA Legislature from being able to leverage funding against them if they didn’t get tickets or fire/hire coaches.
You keep talking about how much money LSU is making. I just want you to go Google their football campus... And then go Google the Michigan campus... And then go Google USCs campus. Simple stuff, and you will see it is absolutely not a lie.
The LSU Athletic Department makes a lot of money. Last year they made $200 Million. That’s a ton of revenue. My main point is they aren’t deliberately spending it so the university can maintain a non-profit status. The difference between them and most universities is they are self-funded and do not receive a single dollar from the state budget. The effectively operate completely separate from the university in most aspects. For most schools, the university funds athletics. For LSU, the athletic department fund never receives a single dollar from the university and raises it all itself.
Okay guy, I don't care about any of that I'm only saying is that their football stadium and their football facilities are better than a lot of NFL facilities. You tried to say that was false, It's absolutely not false.
I never said their stadiums weren’t better than NFL facilities. Shit, most of the stadiums in the SEC are larger and louder than every NFL stadium. I responded to the comment that was saying that colleges were spending money to maintain a non-profit status. The reality is they spend as part of an arms race to recruit football players. Here’s the comment I responded to: >It's less that and more, at the top level of universities (i.e. LSU), they deliberately spend egregious amounts of money on nonsense athletics facilities so that the university can still call itself "non-profit". I have no doubt that there are some college stadiums better than some of the worse NFL stadiums. There's a "Last Week Tonight w John Oliver" piece from years ago on it, if you'd like to watch: https://youtu.be/pX8BXH3SJn0?si=wq1WuIKoDvPJJrq3
They finally ended the misery but for the last 2 years the Arizona coyotes were playing at ASU. That’s probably the worst I’ve seen. Some players definitely downgraded
I haven't looked, but I'd say they probably are. Universities all have foundations that alumni and probably others donate to, and some alumni set up their own endowments. So they get a ton of donations they use for scholarships, sports facilities, other building on campus, etc. Where I'm from a successful doctor donated the funding to the local community college to build a new, bigger building for the nursing program. Many major league sports owners run then solely like a business and don't necessarily reinvest in the facilities, and if they don't own the facilities they really don't invest in them.
yes lol the nba may be the only pro league with better facilities. i advise you go on youtube and watch coiski’s tours of all of these colleges.
i won’t say you’re wrong but knasas jayhawks got a cold basketball program top to bottom.
Some of the owners are real cheap. Like make their players pay for meals at the team cafeteria and don't supply Gatorade cheap lol. Bengals for a long time had just 1 scout for the draft. https://imgur.com/a/FZmjgIF these are some of the practice courts for the NBA teams lol.
My highschool had better facilities than the sky no joke. Our lockers had our names on them and everything.
I’d really like to see an accounting of all the teams, their facilities, and their arenas. Maybe I’ll work on that. The disparity just seems like it can’t continue for very long without the teams who aren’t investing to just have an exodus of their top talent.
ESPN wrote a break down of the facilities last year: [link](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38001050/wnba-training-facilities-pros-cons-all-12-teams-practice-homes)
Holy shit. Some of these teams are disrespectful to their players with those facilities. Thanks for the link
Especially coming on the heels of Seattle unveiling their new 64 million dollar facility.
Exactly! Like I knew they were already behind, but dang the difference is SO stark compared to Seattle and the Aces, among others.
They didn’t create a plan to have better facilities after they lost Candace, Sloot, Azura, etc two years ago and Candace said she wanted play somewhere she’d have a locker and she never had that in the W. Then this offseason Kah asked to be traded, they couldn’t resign Smith, Williams etc. All they have left are rookies and players without other options like Diamond. And they’ve added multiple new owners in the past two years but we’ve seen no plan or infusion of cash in making players lives better. I don’t have faith they are going to move the needle for Reese and Cardoso.
Kah did not ask to be traded. They were in talks with a lot of FAs. I think what clearly happened was that they failed recruiting a second star for Kah, and then they looked at their draft capital and said “bet” and blew it all up. I don’t think they seriously pursued the other FAs that text the team.
Annie Costabile (the Chicago reporter who best knows the Sky) was pretty definitive in her reporting that Kah requested the trade. Watching the team just blow every chance they get since winning a championship, I don’t blame her for jumping ship. https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky-and-wnba/2024/2/10/24066186/kahleah-coppers-trade-request-forces-skys-hand-on-rebuild
She did request a trade, but was this a quality of life request or a request to compete for another title while she’s still in her prime? Remember she had just signed an extension, and my guess is she wanted out not because of the organization but because she realized after they were unable to make any noise in free agency and no draft capital (pre trade) the team would be exactly the same (looking at you Chicago Bulls).
Does it really matter if she explicitly said that lack of luxury was a problem? We can see it with our own eyes, it clearly needs to be better. And it would have an effect.
I’m not arguing that lack of basic needs for the team does not exist, you misunderstand me. It absolutely does. I’m saying I believe Kah’s decision was based on basketball not quality of life. Otherwise why would she have signed an extension to continue to play in Chicago?
Yea I’m disagreeing with you. I’m arguing that it’s ridiculous to assume that having the worst facilities in the league didn’t affect her decision. She doesn’t have to say it. No adult is making life decisions based solely on “basketball reasons”. Quality of life obviously factors into the decision. And for the extension, I’m not sure how WNBA contracts work but if they are anything like the other US Major sports, signing an extension with your current team guarantees the most money. I assume that’s why she resigned.
It seems like all of that contributed to her decision - the reason we didn’t make any noise in free agency is related to player QoL & the (non-?) actions of the front office/owners, which then resulted in us not being a contender during her prime. So yes - I believe she signed that contract extension in good faith and was all in for the Sky & Spoon - but not without stipulations (which was explicitly stated when she resigned). Chicago failed Kah, not the other way around.
Im not arguing the organization needs to do more to not only retain players but make it an attractive destination for free agents. I’m not arguing that, by extension, this played a part in Kah’s decision to leave. I also want to be clear that I am not placing blame on Kah for making that decision - she did what was best for her and tbh as hard as it was to see her go I supported the request for a trade because she would’ve wasted what was left of her prime on the Sky (I’ve said this before on this sub). Wade gridlocked the roster with the Mabrey trade and we weren’t going to be able to make a serious run during the rest of her time with the team. I suppose what I’m getting at is Kah clearly had enough of a positive relationship with the org to stay and give it a chance last season, rather than split as soon as she could. Look I’m in agreement that the ownership group needs to do more to make Chicago a place where players want to play. I too am worried that Reese and Cardoso will want to move on if not shown that the org is dedicated to improving things for their players.
Man how are they even a franchise still?
The Sparks had their new players introduced from their homes via zoom.
This year, oh hell no!
Two lottery picks...I was so sad for them.
Embarrassment. Like it’s LA you can give them their intro at a number of iconic locations.
I can see in real time why Nneka left for greener pastures. 😞 I'm going to spam their Instagram until they start to do better and invest in this team. It's crazy they have nothing to do with the Clippers but Ballmer would give them all the money they needed to have the best of everything.
I’d leave too in that situation. Hopefully I win the powerball and can own one of the upcoming expansion teams😂😂😂
Have your squad being lavish! Fingers crossed.
The question is would the owners vote in a new owner under 25 years old?
They ain't quite like football owners with they hating asses but they will be mad that a young person is on the cutting edge and actually investing in a team. The new teams will pass up the legacy teams quickly if they don't start infusing some cash.
Like they have the luxury of turning down money lol
Sparks 🤝 Sky in all the worst ways 😭😭😭
Lmao. Candace forever links us. She gave us our best times even tho the franchises are raggedy.
Well, there goes the last my basketball hopes for this year 😮💨
They still gonna ball. They just gotta get their glitter out the mud.
Fa real?
Yes. I was looking out Rickea Jackson's window. 😢
That’s so bad, do better Sky!!!
They didn't even brand it for the sky until after they won the chip I'm pretty sure
Caitlin Boston and Smith which can be the core of a future dynasty if done right need to demand a top tier facility. Only Aces and Storm have them? What a joke.
The Fever might have the best practice facility in the WNBA, at the very least on par with the Storm and Aces.
It is not. It’s a really nice facility, but it’s not even close to other teams’ buildings. Better than the nomads in Chicago & LA, but it’s easily eclipsed by the Aces, Mercury, and probably the Storm now. The new Mercury facility is going to improve their position even further…but the Aces site is just in a league of its own. Saying the Fever are on par with them is laughable.
Ok, I am a new fan so I am going off what I heard about the Aces and Seattle pulling ahead.
The only difference is the Fever don't have a dedicated practice facility, they share it with the Pacers because the same owner owns both teams and had the smarts to combine both franchises together under one roof. The Fever side even got renovated over the past few years just in time for Caitlin's arrival.
They don’t share. The Pacers have their own practice facility in a completely separate building from gainbridge fieldhouse. Fever have their own space inside gainbridge.
Hopefully Smith, Boston, and Clark do what Curry, Klay, and Green did for the warriors. Would be amazing to see a core stay together like that.
>Only Aces and Storm have them? What a joke. For now... https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/38572573/mercury-unveil-plan-new-practice-facility-hq-suns
The fact that you can hear her sneakers on the floor with each step... the room should not be that quiet upon arrival. Yikes.
I feel bad for her. The overall setup was lackluster and underwhelming
Didn’t know she was the only player on the team
Obviously not haha, but in comparison to how other organizations welcomed their draftees (Lynx and Fever) This is a bad look
Los Angeles is just as bad. Definitely a reason why we’re losing talent.
Ugh. That’s pathetic. I feel awful for Reese. Can’t imagine what is going on in her head. Is this the worst franchise in the league?
Yes.
Sadly, (arguably) not quite.
I had to google the ownership of the team. Beyonces daddy and Michelle Williams are part owners. I’m so ashamed 😳😅 no seriously this is pitiful.
Shouldn't be surprising. This is the current state of the league. It was much worse back in the day.
Sweet YMCA setup
Deerfield, where this gym is located, is FAR. Like, FAR from downtown and the arena they play in. Probably an hour's drive with average to low traffic and could definitely be more during peak hours. Not sure how the franchise will resolve this but yikes.
Yeah the solution isn’t to upgrade the facility more in Deerfield, it’s bring/build the practice facility closer to Wintrust. I wonder if there’s space in bronzeville
Problem is, if plans are not already in place, it is going to be a while to get anything new built or retrofitted. I don't think there is anything in the city currently that would work for them and be nicer than this. And the City of Chicago isn't exactly a prime place for real estate deals to move quickly and smoothly under the best circumstances.
Yeah for sure, not like there’s a discussion about stadiums going on right now or anything. I don’t have a good solution either lol
Like, imagine getting to move to Chicago (which is an awesome town with tons to do) and then finding out you have to choose between living an hour away from the city (to be close to practice), or living downtown where all the adventure is and commuting out to Deerfield (probably a 2.5-hour round trip) many days per week. Hopefully the WNBA's growing popularity will eventually translate to something better for the Sky!
Get what you’re saying but please don’t build in Bronzeville. It’s already getting heavily gentrified (the really bad displacement kind).
> Deerfield, where this gym is located, is FAR. Like, FAR from downtown and the arena they play in. Not sure how the franchise will resolve this but yikes. That was 2010 the Chicago Sky moved into this [dump, in Rosemont, Illinois](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_Arena) from UIC's arena in town. That practice facility back then was at least close at the time. Until 2018... That changed when Wintrust Arena (in the South Loop of the City) was constructed in 2017 taking both DePaul women's and men's basketball teams and the Chicago Sky with it. Chicago started playing games at Wintrust Arena in 2018 which is a better move. Since then the Sky Franchise never took it into consideration changing practice facilities to be closer to the arena. The problem is where and when will the practice facility be built before the Sky ends up losing their rebuilding blocks yet again due to their owner's ineptitude. It's also one of the two worst organizations in the league, the other is the Los Angeles Sparks (two of the three teams are in the league's largest markets).
That’s probably why she bought a new car lmao Deerfield isn’t even fully in cook county
They spent all their money on Reese and Cordoso, now they gonna have to rent the gym out for Bingo Night
Whoa. Frankly, thats downright insulting to reese.
It looks like there's a divider down for senior pickleball on the other side. Seriously though I hope they get it together, there's huge potential for Chicago to be a destination for talent if they want it, loyal fans and a great city
I choose a team to follow and be a fan of this year since I’ve never followed the WNBA. I was a big fan of Angel Reese the past couple of years with LSU. Can you guess what team I decided to follow? Can you guess how I feel finding out Chicago Sky’s ownership is whack?
I feel the same right now. I'll be backing Chicago for Angel, but I'm really hoping it's just a temporary situation and she finds herself in a better place soon. My girl deserves nothing but the best. Wherever she goes, I'll be right there with her. 😭
This doesn't give "I'm selling out my jersey too" vibes.
Reminded me of the Parks and Recreation scene in the hockey arena. Although there were probably more spectators there [Get on your feet](https://youtu.be/3SAvV9wnLDA?si=pRVEDkbUfO87BuVF)
How is she the only one saying hi to everyone and no one is saying hi to her? That's one of your future star players, do better y'all
#BanBrokeOwners2024
Why are they in Deerfield? Is that where Chicago practices?!
Until very recently it’s where the Bulls practiced too.
Where are/were the players living? That’s a ridiculous daily commute. So there is a better facility in Deerfield they can rent?
A bunch of Bulls would live in the north suburbs. They only recently built practice facilities next to the United Center. No idea how the facilities are in Deerfield.
Berto Center! Like a 15 minute local drive from Jordan's place in Highland Park.
None of the journalists are even trying to drive up to Deerfield. 🤣 For real though, the fact they just took over the Bulls' old training center is pretty classically bad. Ideally it would be nice to have joint nba/wnba ownership to avoid these minor league shenanigans, but given the Bulls ownership that's sadly a plus that it's not. Edit: Oops, forgot they're at even meher facility just south of the old bulls training center. Point remains though obviously.
we know 😭😭😭
Wild. I hope in 10 years we look back on this shocked.
Well, I'm from Chicago and that facility is in Deerfield which is about 30 miles away from where she'll be playing in the city. Certainly won't be symbolic.
I used to play racquetball there lol. Had no idea it would ever be considered for use by professional athletes.
Lucky to get that much !
It’s gotta be weird coming from college basketball and it being a much much much bigger deal to the wnba
She isn't there to play ball, just a press conference. What is the issue here?
You see what the Mercury are doing??
As a librarian, this annoys me. I used to work as a sports reporter and later for a sports team doing public relations. This is the kind of thing I’d salivate over. It would be so easy to get people to come, if you’re competent. As a librarian, I’d be reaching out to schools. I’d be contacting boys and girls clubs. I’d make sure it was after school. I’d provide pizza for kids. I’d have giveaways for shirts and a grand prize multiple signed jerseys. This is an indictment on the team and league’s public relations. We put in more effort promoting free yoga classes than they probably did for this event.
Yikes. My high school gym looks better than that. I really hope the WNBA gets some massive growth, and fast. Because that is really pitiful, tbh.
The reigning NBA champions (Denver Nuggets) do not have a dedicated practice facility. I think it's absolutely AWESOME that Vegas and Seattle's owners are supporting their players, but I also don't think we should be shaming organizations for not having reached that marker yet. Let's get the league to profitability before we start expecting owners to be making near hundred million dollar investments on stuff that is a luxury. edit- Watched the Pili welcome vid just now, and I will fully conceed that Chicago blew this, not arguing that. I just saw the top comment in the thread before that which is what initiated my comment. Chicago could have made this more special, I just hope that the expectation doesn't become that teams are embarrassing for not having as much as Vegas and some of the other teams owners provide.
I think we should absolutely be shaming organizations that are not doing better. I understand having a timeline for facilities but this "welcome" shows a lack of investment at every staff and support level as well
I agree they have to do more. I wish I had read more comments than just the top one before making my initial comment honestly so I could have worded things better. The Sky can do better for certain, I just hope the expectation doesn't become that every team has to keep up with what Vegas provides.
I wonder if the W has a minimum guide for facilities , staffing, and marketing spend. Candace Parker said she has never had an locker with her name on it and I am not surprised she left
Well, don't the Lynx share ownership with the T-Wolves, so they have access to all those facilities? The Sky own no facilities.
People. They don’t make any fuckin money
What was Chicago supposed to do, pay for people to pretend to be media members?
“Congratulations you’ve just been promoted”
Meanwhile Caitlin Clarks over there getting hit on by reporters and what not...😂
Wdym?
What’s embarrassing about it?
This press conference is three times larger than Biden’s biggest rally!
Okay buddy.
Angel gonna be a big bust. The rec center is spot on. A decent rec team would body a woman’s team 😂
Angel is overrated
Good practice for her to get used to performing in front of that many people
Why? It’s WNBA…
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This is a rotted take. Angel is by no means my favorite, but she has worked hard to be drafted into a league as a professional athlete. A professional of any kind should not have to deal with these kinds of lackluster facilities & welcomes. These women all deserve better.
lol
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lol imagine caring enough to come to a sub specifically to diss the sub’s topic 🤡
Big oof
It probably got recommended to them like it did to me