The Minnesota Lynx made it abundantly clear that they did not want anything to do with Angel Reese during the 2024 WNBA Draft. They had an opportunity to scoop up the former LSU superstar with the No. 7 pick but decided to trade down one spot to acquire Alissa Pili instead.
For their part, the Chicago Sky were more than happy to turn over two first-round picks, a second-round pick and Sika Kone in exchange for the rights to draft Reese. This decision has paid dividends for the Sky, who now have a bona fide star on their roster in Angel Reese.
At the moment, the 6-foot-3 forward is the biggest threat to Caitlin Clark's Rookie of the Year claim behind averages of 13.4 points , 12.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game -- numbers that were enough to earn Reese a spot in the 2024 All-Star Game.
The Lynx, on the other hand, have not gotten much production from Pili, who is currently averaging just 2.4 points in 6.4 minutes per contest.
The decision to pass on Reese during the draft by the Lynx was spearheaded by team president and head coach Cheryl Reeve. According to a recent opinion piece by Patrick Reusse of The Minnesota Star Tribune, this monumental decision has prompted a compelling question about Reeve's leadership.
"Which begs the question: could Reeve, also the team president, really afford to not draft talent because she didn’t want to coach someone?" asked Reusse. "That is what occurred in the mid-April draft, when she traded down to avoid taking Angel Reese with the seventh pick, leaving the Lynx to take a flier on Pili at No. 8."
The article was posted on X, formerly Twitter, and, unsurprisingly, it quickly blew up. For the most part, fans could not help but criticize both Reeve and the Lynx for a decision they believe the organization has and will continue to regret.
"Yeah Angel is a better situation to shine in Chicago But it’s a super valid take that the Lynx goofed by passing up on Angel just to bury Pili on the bench. Angel on a contender immediately raises their ceiling," said a fan.
"I can bet you $2.2 billion dollars in media rights they regret passing on Reese," read a comment.
"This made me giggle because I know she regret it😭" remarked a supporter.
"I didn’t like the Reese lack of maturity and sportsmanship, a lot due to age and by giving her too much slack in college. But pro sports are about winning and to do that do need the best players. Trading down one spot for a pine rider is a very poor decision by Reeve," said another.
"You’re not wrong," surmised a fan.
To be fair, more than a few fans came to Reeve's defense by arguing that given the Lynx's squad make-up, this was actually a sound decision to make.
Whatever the case might be, this is all water under the bridge now. At this point, there's no way anyone can say for sure if Reese would have been a good fit for Reeve and the Lynx.
Unless, of course, Minnesota trades for her somewhere down the road.
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