<p><a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky" target="_blank" >Sky</a> principal owner Michael Alter doesn’t reveal his state of mind often, but he said during a <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/25/sky-ban-enes-kanter-freedom-from-games-according-to-principal-owner-michael-alter" >recent media appearance</a> that he’s unhappy about the Sky missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year.</p><p>So what should he do about it?</p><p>One does not get the sense that Alter, the league’s longest-tenured owner, is looking to sell his beloved team. In that case, accountability is needed at every level of the organization.</p><p>That means evaluating a general manager who hasn’t protected the team's draft capital even as a historic wave of talent enters the league; a coach who failed to maximize a roster that easily could have won 20 games; and Alter himself, who hasn’t equipped either of them with the intellectual infrastructure of the league's top tier.</p><p>Here are three options for course correction.</p><h3><b>1. Go the Sparks route: Fire the GM</b></h3><h3></h3><p>The Sparks’ situation is similar to the Sky’s: They traded away lottery picks that became stars elsewhere without earning a playoff bid in return.</p><p>Oftentimes in professional sports, that combination means you’re out. The Sparks fired Reagan Pebley midseason, and ownership is now talking about taking a step back to go forward.</p><p>One can understand the appeal of that approach. Look at the Fever, Mystics and Wings, and you’ll notice that all they needed was a couple of losing seasons that led to top picks. Now they're playoff-caliber teams. </p><p>The Sky could find a general manager willing to take this approach, too. But it assumes Alter is amenable to a multiyear rebuild. The fact that former Sky GM/coach James Wade also spat in the face of a draft-driven rebuild might offer a clue about Alter’s preferences.</p><p><b>Why keep Pagliocca:</b> The Sky might just have an underrated young core in Rickea Jackson, Sydney Taylor and Kamilla Cardoso. If Alter is sold on them as a foundation for a contender, it makes sense to retain the man who assembled it. Pagliocca acquired Jackson in a shrewd deal and found Taylor where no one else was looking.</p><h3><b>2. Go the Liberty route: Can the coach</b></h3><h3></h3><p>When the Liberty fell short of their championship goal in 2025, they decided coach Sandy Brondello had failed to maximize their talent.</p><p>The Sky obviously weren’t contending for a title this season, but they underperformed relative to their talent. Some of that traces back to coach Tyler Marsh’s decisions, including <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/06/11/has-sydney-taylor-played-her-way-into-a-bigger-role" >waiting too long</a> to put Taylor in the starting lineup and then waiting too long to make her their go-to closer.</p><p>He also <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/07/skylar-diggins-and-tyler-marsh-still-not-aligned-after-benching" >took heat </a>from veteran point guard Skylar Diggins over his late-game management, and Pagliocca <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/07/03/amid-losing-season-sky-gm-jeff-pagliocca-still-sees-playoff-potential-and-an-underrated-young-core" >implied in an interview with the Sun-Times</a> that he wasn’t thrilled with it, either.</p><p>If the Sky part with Marsh, they would have options. Several seasoned assistants around the league are probably ready. An experienced coach of a playoff team could become available after a first-round exit. Or the Sky could mine the college ranks.</p><p><b>Why keep Marsh:</b> Marsh is clearly improving his end-of-game management: the Sky are actually 5-3 in clutch games since the All-Star break. His offensive system also appears to have legs: Despite their inconsistency, the Sky spent a 10- to 12-game stretch operating as one of the league’s best offenses.</p><h3><b>3. Stay the course — with reinforcements</b></h3><h3></h3><p>This might be the least satisfying option for fans who want heads to roll. The frustration is understandable. In some ways, this season feels like a rerun of the previous two: another missed postseason, more practice-facility dysfunction and sporadic player drama.</p><p>What gets lost in the sauce, though, is how dramatically the basketball improved. Last year’s team was basically unwatchable and finished with one of the worst records in franchise history.</p><p>This year’s team was genuinely formidable, and Pagliocca and Marsh deserve credit for that. The Sky beat each of the league’s top three teams and became the kind of non-playoff opponent that playoff teams didn’t really want to face.</p><p>Now imagine another leap forward next season. Imagine a <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/27/sky-forward-rickea-jackson-is-choosing-to-bedazzle-her-acl-rehab" >healthy Jackson</a> alongside more mature versions of Taylor and Cardoso.</p><p>And imagine, if you can, a front office finally staffed with the kinds of roles leading franchises have had for years: an assistant general manager and analysts dedicated to crunching the numbers, so Pagliocca and Marsh aren’t doing the jobs of four or five people between them.</p><p>That part is on Alter. It would make a huge difference.</p><bsp-list-loadmore class="PageListH" data-module data-hide-authors="true" data-hide-categories="true" data-hide-dates="true" data-show-loadmore="true"
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/27/sky-forward-rickea-jackson-is-choosing-to-bedazzle-her-acl-rehab" >Sky forward Rickea Jackson is choosing to bedazzle her ACL rehab</a>
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<div class="PagePromo-description">The ACL injury ended Jackson’s breakout season all too soon. Bedazzling her ice machine has made the monotony of recovery a little more bearable.</div>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/26/fever-sky-wnba-most-watched-regular-season" >Fever-Sky game averages 3.31M viewers, most-watched regular-season WNBA game since 1997</a>
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<div class="PagePromo-description">It also was the third-most watched regular-season game ever.</div>
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<a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/08/25/sky-ban-enes-kanter-freedom-from-games-according-to-principal-owner-michael-alter" >Sky ban Enes Kanter Freedom from games, according to principal owner Michael Alter</a>
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<div class="PagePromo-description">In a rare media appearance, Alter let it be known that Kanter Freedom is no friend of the Sky’s. </div>
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Owner Michael Alter is ‘not happy’ about Sky missing playoffs again — so what should he do? 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-08-28 22:44:48
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