Breaking news: Two players and the head coach of the women’s basketball team at Chicago Sky have announced their departure from the team.

Breaking news: Two players and the head coach of the women’s basketball team at Chicago Sky have announced their departure from the team.

On Saturday, Candace Parker made the announcement on her Instagram that she was leaving Chicago and joining the defending champion Las Vegas Aces for the 2023 campaign.

Parker writes in the post that her decision was aided by “home and family,” particularly because her daughter would be starting high school in the fall.

Parker added, “Lailaa has always put me first, sacrificed for me, and supported me in whatever I wanted or needed to do, even when it was difficult for her,” during the course of her 13 years.

“I have to be there for my wife, my son, and my daughter. Lailaa attends school, so I can’t be without them for some of the season. I won’t miss her volleyball matches or school dances due to distance. In August, Lailaa begins high school, and I owe it to her to support her in the same way that she has supported me.

Candace has done a great deal for our team during her tenure here, according to a statement issued by general manager and head coach James Wade. I can see why she would like to spend more time with her own relatives. We hope for the best for her. She is and always will be a member of the Sky clan. We shall honor her time here as it is rightfully hers.

Parker shot 45.8% from the field and averaged 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game in 2022. She signed with the Chicago Sky in February 2021 with the intention of winning a title for her city, and she succeeded in doing so that same season.

Parker is the first unrestricted free agent on the Sky to declare their 2023 season destination. Other free agents include Emma Meesseman, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, and Azurá Stevens.

Kahleah Copper, a three-time All-Star, announced on her Instagram account on Tuesday that she was traded by the Sky to the Phoenix Mercury.

In addition to the Mercury’s first-round selection in 2026, the Sky will also acquire two second-round selections in 2025 and the No. 3 pick in this year’s WNBA draft. The forwards, Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere, will also be given to them. Morgan Bertsch is likewise being sent by the sky to Mercury.

In a statement, Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said, “First and foremost, we would like to thank Kahleah for her tremendous contributions to the Chicago Sky, including leading the Sky to a championship as the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP.” “Over a period of seven years, Kahleah personified Chicago Sky Basketball with her intense competitive attitude, winning mentality, and tremendous energy. We shall miss Kahleah and hope she has the best possible next chapter in her life.

In September of last year, Copper inked a two-year contract renewal with The Sky that would last until 2025. The arrangement for copper was $241,984 in Year 2 and $248,134 in Year 2024, which is this year’s supermax.

“Over the past seven seasons, Chicago has been everything I could have asked for and more,” Copper said at the time in a statement. Here is where I’ve developed both personally and as a gamer, and I’m happy to report that I’ve assimilated into this community.

This city puts its all into every day and doesn’t take any short cuts. Maintaining that standard makes me proud. I’m eager to continue leaving my mark on this city, our supporters, my teammates, coaches, and the entire Sky organization with everything I have in the hopes of winning another title here at home.

In an Instagram post, Kahleah Copper bids adieu to Chicago: “Almost exactly seven years ago, I was sitting in my flat in Belgium when I was traded from Washington, DC, to Chicago. After seven years, I can genuinely say that I adore Chicago. t

Six-foot-1 wing Copper was named Finals MVP in 2021 and has played in seven of her eight WNBA seasons in Chicago. She is the only core player left from the Sky’s championship run.

“It’s not often that you get to add a player of Kahleah’s caliber in her prime,” Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren remarked. She has a real aptitude for scoring goals and is among our league’s most athletic and exciting players. She is also the perfect two-way player, a proven champion, and a strong competitor whose length and activity can disrupt the game on the defensive end.

Turner played 158 games over his five seasons with Phoenix, where he was selected to the All-Defensive first team in 2020 and 2021. The previous season, Phoenix acquired Onyenwere, the 2021 league Rookie of the Year. In the previous season, she averaged 8.9 points and 3.7 rebounds.