Analysis: Chicago Sky trade Marina Mabrey to Connecticut Sun

The Chicago Sky traded Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday, ending the guard’s two-year run with the team.

In exchange for the sixth-year Notre Dame guard, the Sky will receive Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut’s 2025 first-round pick and the option to swap first-round picks in 2026.

Mabrey never quite reached the All-Star caliber projections that both former coach James Wade, and the compensation conceded to bring her in, suggested.

Wade brought Mabrey to Chicago before the 2023 season and gave up a lot of draft capital to do so, parting with a 2023 first-round pick, 2024 first, 2024 second, 2024 third, rights to a 2025 first swap (to Dallas), and a 2025 second.

Wednesday’s trade brings back some of that lost capital.

Though short, Mabrey’s time in Chicago certainly saw growth for her as a player.

Her individual growths in leadership and defense have stood out this season, as well as in general operating standpoints:

In addition to the highly valued pick compensation (more to come on that), Chicago will also diversify its guard room more.

Health is an overarching point to note, however. Moriah Jefferson is a quality starting-level guard providing play on and off-ball with effectiveness, and can both catch-and-shoot from deep as well as deck it and make shots off multiple dribbles when attacking closeouts.

Jefferson is also good on dynamic touches, via handoffs. 

She’s started in all but 14 of the 108 games she’s been available for over the last three-and-a-half seasons — spending time in Dallas, Minnesota, Phoenix, and Connecticut in that window.

In 2022 she spent 30 games with Minnesota and shot 47.4% on 2.5 attempts from deep. She also had the 12th most pick-and-roll possessions compiled, registering a PPP mark of 0.872.

Rachel Banham is a player that is known as a “sniper” on scouting reports, a player who excels shooting, in all contexts of the word.

Standstills, off screens, off movement, she does it all and holds the defense accountable in a different manner when spaced.

She’s at 37 percent on catch-and-shoot opportunities this season on 46 attempts. Even more, she’s recently knocked down eight attempts from deep on Sunday vs Phoenix.

Banham is an expert off-ball guard, who can also operate extremely well at points of attack offensively, efficiently, and effectively initiating offense and pick-and-roll roll as a secondary ball handler.

In pick-and-roll, she garners a more aggressive coverage due to her shooting prowess, yet still has a points per possession mark of 0.939 (very good).

There’s been a context shift in the guard room for the Sky guards with the additions of Jefferson and Banham that should better align with the emergence of Carter, as well as the budding paint presences of Reese and Cardoso as they continue to find their way offensively within the context of the team.

“We are very excited to welcome Rachel and Moriah to the Sky and we know that both will bring a ton of value to this roster this season,” Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement.  “Adding another essential first-round draft pick in 2025 will strengthen our draft capital next year.”

These sentiments from Pagliocca speak volumes to his ability to, in a herculean style, shift and pivot from the desire to attract top-end free agents in his first free agency period as a franchise decision maker, to compiling picks to replenish their then dry well of future drafts compensation, while also adding talents to help compete in the now.

One would tend to believe they may not be done yet on the transactional front, however, as it stands, Pagliocca has been by far the most busy and arguably most successful in putting his franchise in a better position both in the now, as well as for the future — in reaction to all that he inherent.

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