Two days after Curt Miller and the Los Angeles Sparks parted ways, the Chicago Sky released Teresa Weatherspoon. Miller had just completed his second season in LA, Weatherspoon her first.

Both were surprising steps. Neither team was expected to make the playoffs this year — the Sky ranked last in ESPN’s preseason WNBA Power Rankings — and the coaches appeared to receive significant support from the players.

Led by Weatherspoon, who played eight seasons in the WNBA, the Sky established themselves behind rookie forward Angel Reese, who had a league double-double streak record of 15 games.

Chicago finished the season 13-27 – winning just three games after the Olympic break – and did not make the postseason. Still, there seemed to be enough positive momentum from the season’s best stretches for Sky to build on for 2025, when there will be another lottery pick (Chicago selected Kamilla Cardoso with the No. 3 overall pick in April).

Reese, who was drafted No. 7 in April, posted on social media that she was “heartbroken” over Weatherspoon being ousted, which was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

“You don’t deserve this, but I can’t thank you enough. I love you Tspoon,” Reese wrote.

We look at what the coaching change means for a franchise that is just three seasons away from a championship in 2021.

How surprising was Sky’s decision to part ways with Weatherspoon?

Voepel: Not many expected that, especially since Weatherspoon has only been in office since last October. And it was clear that she had a good bond with Reese, who quickly became the face of the team.

The Sky, an expansion franchise launched in 2006, had eight coaches. James Wade reached the highest peak by taking over in 2019, leading the Sky to their only championship and then leaving around the middle of last year to take an assistant job with the Toronto Raptors. Interim coach Emre Vantansever ended the season and Sky lost in the first round of the playoffs

Weatherspoon was canceled less than a month later. She had spent four seasons as an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans. She had the great task of rebuilding heaven.

Three of Chicago’s top five scorers from 2023 had left the team in early 2024: Courtney Williams and Alanna Smith went to the Minnesota Lynx in free agency, and Kahleah Copper was traded to the Phoenix Mercury at her request. Then Elizabeth Williams was lost due to a knee injury that forced Marina Mabrey out for the season in June and in July Marina Mabrey moved to the Connecticut Sun.

The Mabrey trade, which included a 2025 first-round pick and a 2026 first-round pick to Chicago, suggested that the Sky front office was more focused on focusing on the future to prepare than make the playoffs this year. If that were the case, Weatherspoon’s shooting would be more unusual.

Angel Reese shared this news after Chicago Sky parted ways with coach Teresa Weatherspoon. pic.twitter.com/6AeVDnIFOo

– espnW (@espnW) September 27, 2024

Where is Sky now heading into the off-season?

Voepel: As Charlie Creme wrote in his Sky assessment, 3-point shooting and point guard play are big needs for Chicago in 2025. Even though the Sky are in the lottery, they owe the Dallas Wings a pick swap for the 2023 trade that brought Mabrey from the Wings. As much as the chance to recruit UConn guard Paige Bueckers would be a huge help for Chicago, it’s not going to happen.

Reese and Cardoso are a promising post duo, and guard Chennedy Carter led the Sky in scoring this year after retiring from the WNBA in 2023. So it seems there are things Chicago can build on.

After the season, Chicago players Dana Evans and Isabelle Harrison spoke to the media about their disappointment at what they perceived to be a lack of support from some Sky fans, and Evans suggested that Weatherspoon did not believe in them.

But considering how close Weatherspoon and Reese appear to be, you’d think Sky would be interested in keeping their young star as happy and comfortable as possible. Firing Weatherspoon feels like the opposite of that, at least for now.

Pelton: I’m very excited to see what this means for Carter’s future in Chicago. After no team took a chance on getting her in 2023, Weatherspoon gave Carter the opportunity to play and eventually be a starter. Unlike Reese – whose tweet Carter retweeted on Thursday night – Carter had a one-year contract. She will be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Considering how well Carter has played this season, it now seems a much more realistic possibility that another team will try to sign her to an offer list that the Sky are unwilling to match.

What could happen in Weatherspoon’s future?

Voepel: She and Miller are kind of in the same boat: Suddenly they’re out of their jobs and in places they thought they’d be building for a while. It’s always difficult to know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes in a team.

But it seems odd that less than a year ago, Chicago management touted Weatherspoon as the right person to drive the franchise forward and then gave her very little time to do so.

On the other hand, Jeff Pagliocca was hired as Sky general manager for a few weeks after Weatherspoon became head coach last October. For the previous four seasons he had worked with Sky to support player development and advise the head coach. Did Pagliocca and Weatherspoon clash?

Is there a chance that Miller and Weatherspoon could actually swap jobs?

Weatherspoon spent her final season as a WNBA player with the Sparks in 2004. Considering the Sparks also had two lottery picks that year that were post players – No. 2 Cameron Brink and No. 4 Rickea Jackson – Weatherspoon’s experience with Reese and Cardoso should work in their favor. Additionally, Weatherspoon was a well-respected point guard leader during her playing days, so she was able to bring that expertise to the Sparks.

Aside from that, three more teams are also coming to the WNBA: Golden State next season and Toronto and Portland in 2026. So both Weatherspoon and Miller could be candidates for these jobs.

What other coaches could be in the hot seat?

Voepel: Seattle Storm coach Noelle Quinn spoke out Tuesday after the Storm’s season-ending loss in Las Vegas, suggesting she was worried about her future.

Quinn took over the Storm at the start of the 2021 season when Dan Hughes stepped down due to health reasons. Seattle has made the playoffs in three of four seasons under Quinn. But she said Tuesday that some of the Storm players didn’t put in the necessary effort.

“Going forward, the appreciation for putting on a Storm jersey needs to be the same way you appreciate the game,” Quinn said. “And that’s how you perform and play. I will be better, our team will be better. Effort will never be something for us again.”

“To go from 11 wins (in 2023) to 25 and make the playoffs feels successful. I feel like I want more. The group could have done more. I feel responsible for it.

We’d also be remiss if we didn’t mention the other two teams that missed the playoffs: Dallas and the Washington Mystics. Latricia Trammell led the Wings to the semifinals last year; They had the second-worst record in the league that year. Injury circumstances must be taken into consideration for Dallas.

However, Trammell is also the fourth Wings coach – not including a brief interim coach in late 2018 – since the franchise moved to Dallas in 2016. So there hasn’t been much coaching stability with the franchise.

As for Washington, the Mystics started the season 0-12 but were fighting for a playoff spot until the final day of the regular season. Elena Delle Donne didn’t play – we don’t know if we’ll see her again in the WNBA – and Washington also had a lot of injuries.

In addition, Mystics coach Eric Thibault is the son of Washington general manager and former coach Mike Thibault. This may make the Mystics’ coaching measures more difficult. Looking at how Washington played when most of its players were healthy, it’s also fair to say that Eric did a good job when Washington was at full strength.