CHICAGO — The Chicago Sky are moving on from Chennedy Carter after deciding not to extend a qualifying offer to the dynamic guard. Carter is now an unrestricted free agent and can begin negotiations with other teams.
Carter initially joined the Sky on a training camp deal before breaking into the starting lineup last season. The fourth-year guard has often been a lone source of offense, especially since the departure of Marina Mabrey in a July trade. Carter averaged 17.5 points and accounted for a quarter of the Sky’s scoring since the All-Star break.
If Carter was so integral to the Sky offense, why didn’t the team try to re-sign her? The decision will depend on two key factors: offensive style and locker room identity.
The offense cannot function like it did last season. The Sky were the second lowest scoring team in the WNBA, had the second lowest offensive rating and made the fewest 3-pointers. Most importantly, they failed to adequately spread the offense through rookie stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, resulting in gridlock inside the arc that was exacerbated by a lack of shooting behind them.
Carter largely served as a bandage for those issues by creating shots out of nothing and forcing the Sky to speed up transitions. However, her style deviated significantly from Skye’s ideal system.
Carter doesn’t use the 3-pointer. She required the fourth-highest usage percentage in the league (28.4) to keep the score alive, meaning the offense was heavily geared toward isolation guard play that left Cardoso and Reese disengaged and uninspired at the end of the offense.
Carter found success this offseason in the Chinese Women’s Basketball Association, averaging 31.2 points on 51% shooting against Wuhan Shengpan. But her style hasn’t changed. To maintain that level of scoring, they need 24.6 shots per game and 23.8 percent shooting from deep.
The Sky can’t afford another non-factor behind the arc in the starting lineup with Cardoso and Reese. And they need to improve their length and on-ball promotion, which would have been quite a challenge for the undersized shooting guard.
Carter’s suitability for the Sky was further undermined by her role in the breakdown of trust within the locker room of former coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who was fired in October after her first season as a WNBA head coach.
Carter is talented enough to compete at the league’s highest level, but if the Sky follow the formula they applied last season, no offense will work. If Carter wants to find her footing in the WNBA, she will need to adjust her on-ball mentality to encompass more pick-and-roll plays while improving her 3-point accuracy.
Starting Monday, Jan. 11, teams can extend key designations to one-year contracts and restricted free agents with a slight increase in salary from the previous season. Restricted free agents who did not receive a qualified offer by Monday became unrestricted free agents on Tuesday.
The Sky have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Michaela Onyenwere, Dana Evans and Nikolina Milić. If no other team makes a higher-level offer, they could either return to Chicago or serve as a trade asset as the front office plans a significant rebuilding year with new coach Tyler Marsh.
The Sky are expected to re-sign Onyenwere, who has been a locker room leader and journeyman wing capable of starting in crunch situations. They are also more likely to bring back Evans, who lost his starting point guard role back last season but still shows promise as a potential reserve player, or utilize her in a trade to continue building a stronger backcourt.
Milić’s trade with the Minnesota Lynx last April secured the No. 7 draft pick that the Sky used to select Reese, but Milić hasn’t played in the WNBA since 2023.
With this first step completed, the Sky are approaching a critical point in the offseason as they enter the race for top free agent and trade targets like Jewell Loyd. The next two months will determine the foundation of Marsh’s roster for his debut season as the front office prepares for another important draft and the even more important 2026 free agency period.
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