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In the shocking first move of the 2021 WNBA offseason, superstar Candace Parker heads to Chicago Sky as an unrestricted free agent, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Wednesday. The deal can only become official on Monday, with day one teams allowed to sign contracts with free agents.
Parker, who has been one of the faces of the WNBA since she was drafted No.1 from Tennessee in 2008, had spent her entire 13-year career with the Los Angeles Sparks. After winning two MVPs, last season’s Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP as the Sparks won the 2016 WNBA Championship, Parker heads home to play near where she played. first emerged on the women’s basketball scene as the National Player of the Year at Naperville Central High School in suburban Chicago.
What does Parker’s move mean for the sky and the sparks, as well as the balance of power elsewhere in the WNBA? Let’s take a look at the key questions.
Can Heaven advance deeper in the playoffs?
Chicago was in an interesting position going into free agency, as almost the entire core of the squad is under contract for 2021. Of the squad’s top nine players in minutes played in the 2020 season, only the post- player Cheyenne Parker (unrestricted) is a free agent. Signing the other C. Parker almost certainly means Sky won’t have the option of signing Cheyenne again, but that’s okay as Candace can fill a similar role and improve frontcourt rotation.
Since the arrival of James Wade as head coach in 2019, Chicago has been on the fringes of controversy. The Sky went 20-14 in 2019 and were close to reaching the WNBA semifinals before Dearica Hamby’s unlikely shot from nearly halfway sent them home.
Last season, Chicago started 10-4 in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Fla., Before tripping over the finish line. Center Azura Stevens suffered a season-ending knee injury, and she and forward Diamond DeShields left the bubble in late August. DeShields has been hampered by injuries throughout the season and left the bubble for personal reasons. Ranked sixth with a 12-10 record, the Sky were upset by the Connecticut Sun in the first round of the playoffs.
Enter Parker, who still plays at a high level at 34. After injuries limited her to 22 of 34 regular-season games in 2019, when she averaged 11.2 career PPGs, Parker has bounced back to the WNBA campus in 2020, saying she benefited physically without the normal wear and tear of travel. She made a career-high 54% of her 2-point attempts and finished third in the MVP vote – a spot ahead of new teammate Courtney Vandersloot.
Playing with Vandersloot, the league’s top point guard, will likely require some tweaking for Parker. Last season, the Sparks ranked 11th of 12 WNBA teams in the percentage of their games (29%) that ended with a shot, trip to the free throw line, or turnover created on a pick-and-roll game, according to Synergy Sports Tracking. Behind Vandersloot, Chicago had the fourth-highest rate of pick-and-roll games at 37%, as well as the most points per game (1.0) on them.
It’s been a while since Parker functioned primarily as a pick-and-roll player, but in 2017, she finished the league’s fourth-most game count as a screen trimmer, per Synergy Sports. , and averages an excellent 1.04 points per play on these opportunities. . Over time, she is expected to develop pick-and-roll chemistry with Vandersloot.
When Vandersloot is resting, Parker might have more opportunities to play with the ball in his hands. Wade has frequently used substitute Gabby Williams as a forward and Parker – who led the league in assists in 2015 and is 14th in WNBA history in career assists – is undoubtedly an upgrade in this. role.
While this analysis has focused on how Parker will adapt to the attack, that’s not really where the sky needs to improve. Chicago finished fourth in the offensive standings in 2020 and second in 2019, so the offense was good enough to win. This is the defense where the Sky, ninth in 2019 and eighth last season, need to improve. Parker’s 2020 Defensive Player of the Year campaign has undoubtedly benefited from name recognition; she was left out of the league’s All-Defensive teams. Still, Parker’s ability to defend multiple positions makes him an improvement for Chicago.
With a core of three All-Stars in their 30s (Vandersloot will turn 32 next month and his backyard mate Allie Quigley, like Parker, will be 35 this year), the Sky might not be built for a long time. period. Still, the addition of Parker could help Chicago take it to the next stage of the playoffs.
How will the Sparks pivot?
It’s the end of an era for Los Angeles, which was able to pass the torch from franchise icon Lisa Leslie to Parker after their Hall of Fame career overlapped for two seasons. The Sparks have been one of the most successful teams in the league, making the playoffs in all but one of Parker’s 13 seasons in Los Angeles, and winning the title in one of two finals in that span.
The outlook is now cloudier for the Sparks, although their rivals will not like them. Los Angeles still have a former No. 1 overall pick and MVP to Nneka Ogwumike, on whom the Sparks used their base designation in part because Parker was ineligible after playing three seasons on base contracts. Ogwumike will sign with the team again, a league source told ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel on Wednesday.
Los Angeles has a second unrestricted key free agent in starting goalie Chelsea Gray, whose return is also a question mark. Wings Sparks 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 add to a core of Ogwumike and guard Kristi Tolliver, who signed with the team last offseason but chose not to play in. the bubble.
An interesting question mark is Chiney Ogwumike, who also opted out of the 2020 season as her off-field star grew as an ESPN analyst and commentator. Because Ogwumike’s contract has expired, she is – like her sister – only able to negotiate with Los Angeles if she wants to play this season.
The LA market is still a major draw for free agents, so the Sparks should be able to build a rival team. But there is more uncertainty about their future than there has been in years.
Free agency is off to a good start
With most of this offseason’s top free agents on contending teams, it wasn’t clear we were seeing as much movement as last winter, when the new WNBA collective agreement that raised the salary cap caused a wave of team changing stars. Parker’s decision to move to Chicago suggests this offseason could be as active or more.
In part, a big trade has a ripple effect. In that case, Cheyenne Parker becomes available for another team who might have expected them to re-sign, while the Sparks might have enough room to spend. These movements would in turn prompt other teams to react.
Because the status of so many key players remains uncertain, it’s difficult to project exactly where the Sky stands in the league pecking order until the dust settles on free will. For now, I would say Chicago can reasonably expect to reach the semi-finals for the first time since their loss to Parker and the Sparks in 2016, with a chance to move further into the playoffs.
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