CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky made a blockbuster trade Monday, sending two-time WNBA All-Star forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for two future first-round draft picks. The Dream also receive the right to a second-round pick swap in 2028.

The deal cuts short Reese’s tenure in Chicago after two rocky seasons. The Sky traded up to draft Reese with the No. 7 pick in 2024, focusing the roster around a frontcourt pairing of Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso, the No. 3 pick that year.

By acquiring the Dream’s first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, the Sky front office will begin yet another rebuild after scrapping this project.

“This trade is designed to achieve roster balance and represents a great opportunity for all parties,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement. “Angel has achieved many record-breaking milestones in her first two years in the WNBA and has been a competitive force for the Sky. We are thankful for her many important contributions to this league and this game, and we know she will continue to have a big impact on the court and beyond.”

Reese broke the WNBA single-season record for rebounds as a rookie and earned All-Star selections in back-to-back years, leading the league in rebounds both seasons. She averaged 14.1 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 64 games for the Sky and made the All-Rookie team in 2024.

But she ended both seasons on the injury report because of back and wrist concerns, and the Sky missed the playoffs both years while logging a combined 23-61 record during Reese’s tenure.

Throughout her time in Chicago, Reese was unafraid to voice concerns about the management of the team under owner Michael Alter. She felt betrayed by the firing of coach Teresa Weatherspoon after the 2024 season and openly criticized team spending during her second year as the Sky collaborated with players on the development of a new training facility in Bedford Park, Ill.

These issues came to a head in September, when Reese voiced critiques of ownership, the coaching staff and her teammates in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

“I am very vocal about what we need and what I want,” Reese said at the time. “I’d like to be here for my career, but if things don’t pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me. But while I am here, I’m going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can.”

The trade clears the runway for the Sky to reimagine the roster heading into an unprecedented free-agency period with more than 80% of the league’s players currently free agents. Negotiations with unrestricted free agents will begin Wednesday, and players can sign contracts starting Saturday.

But to successfully navigate out of the short-lived Reese era, the Sky must answer a deeper question: Why don’t stars stay in Chicago?

Reese joins a long line of All-Stars who pushed their way out of Chicago, a legacy that includes Hall of Famers Sylvia Fowles and Elena Delle Donne and current star Kahleah Copper. Role players such as Courtney Williams, Rebecca Allen and Gabby Williams also have openly criticized the team’s lack of resources, staffing and structure after their tenures with the Sky.

The Sky will enter free agency this week with a goal of obtaining new stars to anchor the roster. But if they can’t maintain that talent, they will remain on the league’s bottom rung.

Timeline of Reese’s tenure in Chicago

— April 16, 2024: The Sky draft Reese with the No. 7 pick in the WNBA draft.

— May 15, 2024: Reese makes her WNBA debut.

— June 30, 2024: Reese breaks Candace Parker’s record for consecutive double-doubles (10).

—Sept. 6, 2024: Reese is shut down for the season with a fractured wrist after averaging 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

— Sept. 26, 2024: The Sky fire coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season. Reese responds on social media that she is “heartbroken” and describes Weatherspoon as “the only person that believed in me.”

— July 6, 2025: Reese earns a second All-Star selection.

— July 24, 2025: Reese begins to miss games because of a back injury, which lingers throughout the second half of the season

— Sept. 3, 2025: The Tribune publishes an article in which Reese criticizes the team’s ownership, coaching staff and individual players. Reese plays her last game in a Sky uniform that night, tallying eight points, 13 rebounds and four steals in an 88-64 win over the Connecticut Sun.

— Sept. 5, 2025: The Sky announce Reese is suspended for the first half of a Sept. 7 game for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

— Sept. 7, 2025: Reese opts to sit out the second half of that game and doesn’t return to the court for the rest of the season.

— Sept. 22, 2025: Courtney Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins and Reese opt out of exit interviews with the media.

— April 6, 2026: The Sky trade Reese and a 2028 second-round pick swap to the Dream for first-round picks in 2027 and 2028.

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