Two-time WNBA All-Star Angel Reese aired her frustrations amid another losing season for the Chicago Sky, telling the Chicago Tribune she "might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me" if the team doesn't improve its outlook.
The Sky, who moved to 10-30 with Wednesday's 88-64 win over Connecticut, have been eliminated from the playoffs for the second season in a row. They are 3-15 since the All-Star break in July.
"I'm not settling for the same s--- we did this year," Reese told the Tribune. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That's a non-negotiable for me. I'm willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that's what I'm going to do this offseason.
"So it's going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can't settle for what we have this year."
Reese, who entered the day averaging a team-high 14.6 points and WNBA-best 12.6 rebounds this season, had 18 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's victory. She also picked up her eighth technical foul of the season late in the second quarter, which would mean an automatic suspension for Friday's game against the Indiana Fever unless the league rescinds the technical.
Reese, 23, is finishing the second season of a standard three-year WNBA rookie contract that has a team option for a fourth year. The No. 7 draft pick in 2024, Reese was runner-up to Indiana's Caitlin Clark in the Rookie of the Year race last season, when the team finished 13-27 and fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after only one season.
Reese expressed disappointment on social media at the time regarding Weatherspoon's firing. Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh was hired to replace Weatherspoon, but this season has gone worse for Chicago recordwise.
Reese questioned the talent on the Sky's current roster and made it clear she expected the team's front office to be active in free agency.
"I am very vocal about what we need and what I want," she told the Tribune. "I'd like to be here for my career, but if things don't pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me. But while I am here, I'm going to try to stay open-minded about what I have here and maximize that as much as I can."
Reese told the Tribune she wanted Marsh to coach players harder. She pointed to the Golden State Valkyries, who are aiming for a playoff berth as an expansion team, as an example of a team she says is not more talented than the Sky but has played harder and been more successful.
Reese said she was also particularly concerned about the Sky's point guard situation. Longtime Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot returned to Chicago this year after winning a WNBA title with New York last year. But Vandersloot suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Chicago's seventh game on June 7. Vandersloot will turn 37 before next WNBA season.
Reese told the Tribune she doesn't see Vandersloot or anyone else currently on the Sky's roster as the point guard Chicago can build around long term.
"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," Reese said. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that. We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before."
As for whether Chicago, which won the 2021 WNBA title, can return to being a championship-caliber team that can attract sought-after free agents, Reese says that remains to be seen and that the Sky must convince players that the organization is going in the right direction.
"It would be a leap of faith for a great, great player to come here and show that this is something they want to be a part of and [that] we can bring that championship mentality," Reese said.