The Sky need a point guard of the future. That’s one thing the front office and its fans can agree on.
Look around the league and it’s the young crop of PG’s running the show — Caitlin Clark, Olivia Miles, Paige Bueckers, and Veronica Burton.
Courtney Vandersloot, the Sky’s starting point guard, still has sublime moments representative of her Hall of Fame career, and for a 37-year old recovering from an ACL injury, her 2026 campaign was impressive. But she’s no longer a top eight point guard in the league.
The Sky’s other two point guards are in the 35+ crowd and may or may not be back in 2027 — Natasha Cloud is a free agent and Skylar Diggins could be traded.
Finding a point-guard-of-the-future is clearly a priority for general manager Jeff Pagliocca.
“We’re going to keep building that young core,” Pagliocca said in his exit interview. “We have posts. We have wings. We will add a point guard to it at some point. I think that’s fair to say that we’ll be looking at a young point guard.”
He’ll have to be creative about getting a great one. Franchise-changing talent at the position is usually found in the draft lottery, but the Sky consistently deal away their own picks in “win-now” moves.
They’ll feel the cost of that on Sunday night, when the 2027 lottery order will be determined. Because of a previous trade with Washington, the Sky’s pick, wherever it lands, will belong to the Mystics.
That means no chance at drafting the best point guard in the college game, Notre Dame senior Hannah Hidalgo. The Mystics also own the Sky’s 2028 first-round pick.
So the Sky will have to focus on less traditional paths, like finding a hidden gem overseas or in the later stages of the draft. Think a point guard version of All-Rookie team guard Sydney Taylor.
They’ll also need to pounce when trade opportunities arise. Surprisingly, one could be developing with the champs.
The Valkyries former lottery pick, 20-year-old Juste Jocyte, told Lithuanian outlets this week that she’s looking for a trade out of Golden State. Jocyte didn’t crack the Valkyries rotation in her rookie season and took issue with coach Natalie Nakase’s communication about her role.
This news should send Pagliocca to the batphone ASAP.
Though not a natural point guard, Jocyte has excellent vision and a sweet lefty stroke. The Valkyries didn’t really capitalize on that — in their isolation-heavy offense, Jocyte often ended standing up in the corner. She might be a better fit for Sky coach Tyler Marsh’s offense, which features more ball movement and creativity.
In a best case scenario, Jocyte would learn under Vandersloot, transitioning from shooting guard to become the Sky’s point-guard-of-the-future. Even in a medium-case scenario where she sticks to the wing, adding a young shooter with high upside can’t hurt.
The opportunity here is that Jocyte’s trade value shouldn’t be too rich given her limited role, and the Sky have some non-lottery draft capital to offer. They received the Dream’s 2027 and 2028 first-round picks when they traded All-WNBA forward Angel Reese. One of those picks might be enough to get Jocyte.
Being on the receiving end of a player wanting out would be a nice break for the Sky!
For too long trade requests have hurt their momentum. Since inheriting the GM role in 2023, Pagliocca has had to honor requests from presumed franchise pillars Kahleah Copper and Marina Mabrey. The Reese trade was in a slightly different category because each side called it “mutual” rather than an official request, but she’d clearly lost faith in the franchise.
If the Sky could nab Jocyte for cheap, it would help offset some of the damage from the Reese deal, and help establish a new trend of players landing in, rather than leaving, Chicago.
The Jocyte situation isn’t perfect. A report from ClutchPoints this week suggested she wasn’t thrilled about the Valkyries plan to turn her into a point guard, and in her recent interviews, she didn’t sound 100% sure she even wants to play in the United States. Her priority in the summer has been the Lithuanian national team.
The Sky will need to do their diligence first. But given that they’ll be kissing their lottery pick goodbye Sunday night, these are the kinds of situations they must explore.
The Sky need a point guard of the future. They should explore trading for Juste Jocyte 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-11-12 13:16:28
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