{"id":279161,"date":"2025-11-08T11:10:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/279161\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T11:10:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T11:10:40","slug":"courtney-vandersloot-returning-to-sky-next-season-coach-and-gm-appear-safe-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/279161\/","title":{"rendered":"Courtney Vandersloot returning to Sky next season; coach and GM appear safe, too"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot is coming back to the Sky<\/a> next season. And for now, so are the two men steering the ship.<\/p>\n

After finishing at the bottom of the standings, the Sky still haven\u2019t explained how they plan to climb back into the playoff picture or attract top free agents<\/a>. General manager Jeff Pagliocca didn\u2019t offer much of a blueprint beyond saying the team is still in \u201cwin-now\u201d mode.<\/p>\n

But one certainty did emerge from exit interviews: Vandersloot, the WNBA\u2019s all-time assists leader, will return.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she\u2019s healthy, she\u2019s going to
be playing basketball here,\u201d Pagli-occa said.<\/p>\n

Vandersloot tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee just seven games into the season, leaving a gap at point guard that haunted the Sky. Both of her backups battled injuries, and Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh pointed to her absence as the factor that derailed their plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never got to really see the full scope of her integrated into what we\u2019re trying to build here,\u201d Marsh told the Sun-Times.<\/p>\n

Vandersloot, 36, discussed her potential return in a recent television interview, saying that she\u2019s working on a comeback and that her \u201cage is not a factor.\u201d Pagliocca echoed that confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she\u2019s more fired up than ever to prove the world wrong about who she is and what she\u2019s capable of,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, her age did come up in a recent interview with teammate Angel Reese, who questioned the wisdom of building around a player who will be 37 next season and returning from an ACL tear. Reese was suspended for the comments and later apologized, but the concern is straightforward: If Vandersloot has the standard 12-month recovery for such an injury, she wouldn\u2019t return until June. Training camp opens in April, with the season starting in May.<\/p>\n

Even Pagliocca acknowledged the Sky will need more depth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that [Vandersloot] is not going to be playing 38 minutes a game,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to need somebody to be here and be capable of playing that position if she\u2019s not ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marsh and Pagliocca also appear set to return next season. Pagliocca said he has \u201cfull support\u201d from ownership and called Marsh \u201cthe right man for the job.\u201d Marsh has not yet had his review but told the Sun-Times he hopes to be back.<\/p>\n

The Sky fired first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon a week after last season ended. Marsh appears safer. Players credited him for his steadiness through a difficult season and called him one of the smartest when it comes to X\u2019s and O\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Although Marsh was not immune from outside criticism \u2014 no coach of a 10-34 team is \u2014 most of the heat has been on Pagliocca.<\/p>\n

During the team\u2019s final home game, fans chanted \u201cFire Jeff\u201d as the Sky lost their 34th game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing those things is not ideal,\u201d Pagliocca said. \u201cI pour my heart and soul into this job. I lose sleep over the losing. If anyone\u2019s going to take the bullets, I\u2019d rather be me over our head coach or our players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players said the chants and seasonlong criticism became a distraction. Marsh added that one thing he learned about his GM is Pagliocca is willing to absorb it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe takes that for the organization, and he takes it for the players,\u201d Marsh said.<\/p>\n

The biggest open question is Reese<\/a>, the franchise player. Pagliocca said he\u2019s in contact daily with her, and the front office is operating as though she\u2019s returning. It\u2019s unclear if Reese will say the same.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Sky<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t have to have it all figured out. But they should know what they\u2019re aiming for. <\/p>\n

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read<\/p>\n

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\"WNBA<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The current CBA was set to expire Friday, and tensions have been rising in recent weeks as the sides try to work toward a new deal.<\/p>\n

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\"Chicago<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

After winning the 3-on-3 league\u2019s inaugural championship, Reese will spend the offseason elsewhere.<\/p>\n

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