The Chicago Sky’s move to sign Skylar Diggins looked like the one. However, amid thier 7-14 record and getting demoted to the bench, the relationship between Diggins and Chicago seems to have taken a hit. Now, according to WNBA analyst Sabreena Merchant, tensions have reached a point where she thinks a trade is imminent, especially because this has happened before.
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“I hate to write this off after one game, but again this is a player who has a pattern of funky exits from previous situations,” Merchant said on the latest episode of the No Offseason podcast. “And let’s just say, like trade deadline, August 2 is a date that I have circled as when Skylar Diggins could potentially be playing her last game in Chicago.”
In response, co-host Zena K. explained that, with Diggins being hungry, the trade could be a possibility. “So, I’m looking at some of these teams that might need a little bit of a point guard boost. Any teams come to mind for you guys?”
“I’ve heard people suggest Sparks traits with Skyler Diggins,” Merchant answered.
The reporter’s assessment of the situation is backed by the fact that the All-Star has struggled to stay with one team for more than three seasons since leaving the Wings in 2016. In the 2022 season, after three seasons with the Phoenix Mercury, the veteran had a fallout with teammate Diana Taurasi.
According to The Athletic, Diggins missed the last few games of the season and then missed the entire 2023 season due to pregnancy. During that phase, Diggins even claimed that the Mercury didn’t allow her to use their training facility during pregnancy, as per ESPN. In 2024, they traded her to the Seattle Storm.
Even during her stint with the Dallas Wings, Skylar Diggins had tensions with the franchise. In 2020, Diggins said, “I don’t plan on playing in Dallas next year,” as per CBS Sports.
And all these years later, Diggins seems to be rewriting the same old story with the Chicago Sky. The Sky wanted Diggins to spearhead the team in their rebuilding phase. But as the season progressed, tensions have fueled this situation.
Right before Chicago’s matchup against the Phoenix Mercury, the team demoted Diggins from the starting lineup, breaking her streak of 341 consecutive starts. But even more than that, it led to an uncomfortable situation between Diggins and the franchise.
“Now I’m coming off the bench?????? Cool,” Diggins wrote in a post on July 6. She then spoke to the press later that day during a shootaround.
“I’ve been putting my body on the line all year for this team. I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me. I’ve been great professionally. That’s the decision that’s made, and I gotta live with that,” Diggins told the media before taking to social media again for the third and final time that day.
“And the crazy part about it all is that … I’ve been so quiet. I’ve been so good and quiet,” she posted on her Instagram story. Sky’s head coach Tyler Marsh later cited rotational adjustments behind this move while speaking to the media.
Nevertheless, ahead of the game against the Phoenix Mercury on July 7, Skylar Diggins was ruled out due to a knee injury. So, it’s due to this friction that Sabreena Merchant speculated that Diggins’ days with the Sky may be numbered.