In the shocking first play of the 2021 WNBA low season, superstar Candace Parker is heading to the Chicago Sky as an unrestricted free agent, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday. The deal cannot be made official until Monday, as first-day teams can sign free agent contracts.
Parker, who has been one of the faces of the WNBA since being selected No. 1 in Tennessee in 2008, had spent his entire 13-year career at the Los Angeles Sparks. After winning a pair of MVPs, the defensive player of the year honored last season and the MVPs of the finals, as the Sparks won the 2016 WNBA Championship, Parker is heading home to play close from where she first came out on the women’s basketball scene as National Player of the Year at Naperville Central High School on the outskirts of Chicago.
What does Parker’s move mean for Sky and Sparks, as well as the balance of power elsewhere in the WNBA? Let’s take a look at the key questions.
Can the sky advance deeper into the playoffs?
Chicago was in an interesting position to enter free agency because almost the entire core of the team is hired for 2021. Of the team’s top nine players in minutes played during the 2020 season, only the post player Cheyenne Parker (unrestricted) is a free agent. The signing of the other C. Parker means that almost certainly the sky will not have the maximum room to re-sign the Cheyenne, but it is good because Candace can play a similar role and improve the rotation of the front track.
Since the arrival of James Wade as head coach in 2019, Chicago has been on the brink of controversy. The Sky stood between 20 and 14 in 2019 and came close to reaching the WNBA semifinals before Dearica Hamby’s unstoppable shot from near midfield sent them home.
Last season, Chicago started 10-4 in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida, before tripping over the goal. Center Azura Stevens suffered a knee injury at the end of the season, and she and striker Diamond DeShields left the bubble in late August. DeShields was hampered by injuries throughout the season and left the bubble for personal reasons. Launched in sixth place with a 12-10 record, the Sky were upset with the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs.
He joins Parker, who is still at a high level at 34 years old. After injuries limited her to 22 of 34 regular-season games in 2019, when she averaged 11.2 PPG with a minimal run, Parker returned to the WNBA center in 2020, saying she benefited physically without the normal wear and tear of the trip. He scored 54% of his 2-point attempts and finished third in the MVP vote, one place ahead of new teammate Courtney Vandersloot.
Playing with Vandersloot, the highest point in the league, will probably require some adjustment for Parker. Last season, the Sparks ranked 11th out of 12 WNBA teams in the percentage of their plays (29%) that concluded with a shot, a trip to the free throw line or a turnover created in one play. of pick-and-roll, according to Synergy Sports. Tracking. Behind Vandersloot, Chicago had the fourth highest rate of pick-and-roll plays with 37%, as well as the highest number of points per game (1.0).
It’s been a while since Parker has primarily acted as a pick-and-roll player, but in 2017 he finished the league’s fourth play as a screen configurator, for Synergy Sports, and averaged an excellent 1, 04 points per play in these opportunities. . Over time, he would have to develop pick-and-roll chemistry with Vandersloot.
When Vandersloot rests, Parker may have more chances to play with the ball in his hands. Wade has frequently used Gabby Williams as an outfielder and Parker, who led the league in assists in 2015 and is the 14th in WNBA history in professional assists, is certainly an improvement in that role.
While this analysis has focused on how Parker will fit on offense, it’s not exactly where the sky needs to improve. Chicago was fourth in the offensive standings in 2020 and second in 2019, so the offense has been good enough to win. It’s a defense where Sky, ninth in 2019 and eighth last season, needs to improve. Parker’s 2020 defensive player campaign undoubtedly benefited from name recognition; in fact it was excluded from the defensive equipment of the league. Still, Parker’s ability to defend multiple positions makes it an upgrade for Chicago.
With a core of three All-Stars in their thirties (Vandersloot will turn 32 next month and teammate Allie Quigley, like Parker, will turn 35 this year), Sky may not be built long-term . Still, adding Parker could help Chicago take the next step in the playoffs.
How will the Sparks pivot?
This is the end of an era for Los Angeles, which got franchise icon Lisa Leslie to pass the torch smoothly to Parker after her career at the Hall of Fame overlapped for two seasons. The Sparks have been one of the most successful teams in the league, reaching the playoffs in all but one of Parker’s 13 seasons in Los Angeles and winning the title in one of two Finals appearances in that period.
The outlook is now more cloudy for the Sparks, though rivals will not pity them. Los Angeles still has a former No. 1 general team and MVP to Nneka Ogwumike, whom the Sparks used their basic designation in part because Parker was ineligible after playing three seasons previously with basic contracts. Ogwumike will sign with the team again, a league source told ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel on Wednesday.
Los Angeles has a second unlimited free agent on guard Chelsea Gray, whose return is also questionable. Sparks wings Brittney Sykes (restricted) and Riquna Williams (unrestricted) are also free agents. But Parker’s departure gives the Sparks a chance to become free agency bidders to join a core of Ogwumike and guard Kristi Tolliver, who signed with the team last season but opted out. not to play in the bubble.
An interesting question mark is Chiney Ogwumike, who also opted for the 2020 season as his off-field star grows as an ESPN analyst and commentator. Since Ogwumike’s contract expired, she is, like her sister, only able to negotiate with Los Angeles if she wants to play this season.
The Los Angeles market is still a big draw for free agents, so the Sparks should be able to build a contending team. But there is more uncertainty about its future than in years.
The free agency starts flying
With most of the best free agents this low season in competing teams, it wasn’t clear that we would see as many moves as we did last winter, when the new WNBA collective bargaining agreement that increased the salary cap caused a rain of stars who changed teams. Parker’s decision to leave for Chicago suggests that this offseason may be as active or longer.
In part, there is a big effect on a big transaction. In that case, Cheyenne Parker puts herself at the disposal of another team that could have expected her to sign again, while the Sparks could have enough space to spend. These moves in turn would cause other teams to respond.
As the status of so many key players remains uncertain, it is difficult to project exactly where the Skies are in the league’s peak order until the dust settles in free agency. For now, I would say Chicago can reasonably expect to reach the semifinals for the first time since they lost to Parker and the Sparks in 2016, with a chance to deepen in the playoffs.