One of the biggest free agents on the market has a new home, as Skylar Diggins is heading to Chicago. The 7x WNBA All-Star, Olympic Gold Medalist, and 4x First Team All-WNBA selection is moving on from the Seattle Storm after two seasons.
This is Diggins’s fourth WNBA franchise — she started her career with the Tulsa Shock, which ultimately became the Dallas Wings. Then she moved to Phoenix before coming to Seattle, and will now land in Chicago.
Grading Skylar Diggins to the Chicago Sky: B+
Skylar’s time in Seattle saw her average about 15 points per game through two seasons, which is solid. She has room to return to her former stats on a Sky team that will be focused around her as a scorer, too. If Vandersloot comes back at some point in the season from ACL recovery, Diggins can slot into an off-ball role, but she’s also comfortable bringing the ball up.
The Sky’s reluctance to fully go into rebuild/development mode after trading Angel Reese is helped by the amount of cap space they now have, which is obviously a factor in getting Diggins. They are putting all their eggs in one basket, though, given that they don’t have the rights to their first-round picks for the next two seasons, in two VERY strong draft classes.
Ultimately, this move didn’t immediately shift the Sky’s championship odds much, either. They are still tied for second-worst championship odds in the WNBA at +40,000, but only time will tell if this surprising direction change will pay off in the long run.
