Column: Why can’t the Chicago Sky attract — and then keep — top talent?

The 2021 Sky were a bright spot in a Chicago sports landscape where any kind of light was far and few between. But after winning a championship then failing to repeat, that light has flickered out.

Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot and Azurá Stevens have all now chosen to take their talents elsewhere. Parker will be joining the defending champions Las Vegas Aces. Vandersloot hasn’t announced her new team, but did say her goodbye and thank you to the Sky and their fans in an Instagram post. Stevens, who saw her minutes decline in favor of Emma Meesseman, is reportedly signing with the Los Angeles Sparks. And Allie Quigley, a hometown basketball legend, has decided to take the year off from basketball entirely.

All of that begs the question: why can’t Chicago, a Top 3 sports market, retain any talent? Why aren’t big-time free agents staying with the Sky? Who is Kahleah Copper, in the final year of a two-year deal, going to play with? While there has been rampant speculation about Sky players leaving, the rumor mill has been eerily quiet when it comes to interest from players wanting to come to Chicago.

There was no shortage of interest in the team if you looked at the stands. Fans packed Wintrust Arena in record numbers in 2022, and the team now has a wait list for season tickets. Excitement surrounding the team was high. And despite fans being unable to attend the 3-point and skills competition, the team hosted an All-Star weekend that saw a loud and large turnout. How, in the span of one season, did the team fall so far?

The Sky are the lone WNBA team to still have its head coach serve in a dual role as general manager too. Named coach/GM of the team in 2018, James Wade won the WNBA’s Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and led the Sky to their first WNBA championship in 2021.

And while he’s seen success, one has to wonder if maybe it’s time for the team to finally separate the two positions and have a full-time GM. Find someone who is dedicated to working with — and wooing — top stars to the city.

[ [Don’t miss] Column: Allie Quigley leaves an indelible stamp on Chicago basketball — whether this is the end or just a break ]

This month, the Sky announced the addition of Nadia Rawlinson as a co-owner and chairman. Rawlinson, whose background indicates she has an incredible amount of leadership experience, has her job cut out for her. There will be no easing into the job with the team’s core gone. There should be some action in the front office to correct what appears to be a problem throughout the franchise’s history: stars leaving. Elena Delle Donne, Sylvia Fowles and now this year’s crop. Will the team’s internal leadership structure change to try to curb this?

As we wait for free agency to play out, Wade and Co. could possibly pull a rabbit out of a hat and surprise us all, but it feels unlikely. We just saw the best basketball team in the city in years call it quits. And now there’s a hole in the local sports landscape.

So far WNBA free agency has been a bust at the corner of Indiana Avenue and Cermak Road. Sky fans are left reeling, holding their almost two-year-old replica championship banners thinking about what might have been. Will the team have an answer?