WNBA offseason trade grades 2026: Winners and losers - ESPN

In the first 24 hours of WNBA free agency, we started out with a bang!

Angel Reese's days with the Chicago Sky seemed numbered since last year when she publicly voiced concern about the team's future, making evident that there was a fracture between the franchise and Reese. On Monday, that turned into a trade sending her to the Atlanta Dream.

The Sky were excited to select Reese at No. 7 in the 2024 draft, and she had an excellent first season, proving that she not only had a dependable elite skill in rebounding but could grow her offensive game as well. She got along well with coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who built trust with Reese in her rookie season. When Weatherspoon was fired after just one season, Reese was publicly disappointed about the decision, one of the first big cracks in her relationship with the franchise.

Now she moves to Atlanta, which — when the dust settles on free agency — should have a veteran core to embrace the still-learning Reese.

This offseason, we'll take a look at which teams got the better of the major WNBA deals, starting with Reese's move. ESPN breaks down all the implications in our trade grades.

Dream get: Angel Reese

Sky get: First-round pick in 2027, first-round pick in 2028, rights to swap second-round picks in 2028 draft with Dream

The Dream brought in longtime college coach Karl Smesko last season and he was a strong contender for Coach of the Year. Atlanta totally changed its offense under Smesko, who encourages a lot of 3-point shooting and more positionless play. While that initially might not seem like it suits a pure power forward like Reese, Smesko and general manager Dan Padover have certainly studied her game a lot and strategized about how to incorporate her into this system.