Ariel Atkins trade grades: Sky make another confusing decision, Mystics stock up for rebuild

Late on Sunday, another lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft changed hands when the Chicago Sky agreed to trade the No. 3 overall selection, along with a 2027 first-round pick swap and a 2027 second-round pick, to the Washington Mystics for Ariel Atkins.

All told, there have now been two lottery picks -- the Los Angeles Sparks sent No. 2 to the Seattle Storm in the three-team blockbuster that also involved the Las Vegas Aces -- and five first-round selections traded during this wild offseason. With nearly two months left until the draft, it would not be a surprise to see the board change again.

For now, let's grade this latest deal between the Sky and Mystics.

Sky receive

The Sky were in a tough spot at No. 3. After drafting Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese last year, they desperately need a guard for the future, but the two best backcourt prospects in this class, Paige Bueckers and Olivia Miles, are widely expected to be the first two picks.

If the Sky stayed at No. 3, and Bueckers and Miles were indeed off the board, their options would have been to reach a bit for a guard (or wing) like Sonia Citron, Shyanne Sellers, Justė Jocytė or Georgia Amoore, or take yet another big. You can make a pretty compelling argument that French center Dominique Malonga is so promising that going down the latter path with her would be worth it, but that's moot at this point.

Ultimately, the Sky decided they weren't inspired by any of the backcourt options and did not want to deal with a frontcourt logjam after investing so much in Cardoso and Reese, so they moved the pick. That's a reasonable conclusion, but did they make the right deal?

Atkins is a very solid player and has long been underrated. She's a perennial All-Defensive candidate who shoots the ball well from behind the arc and is respected around the league. Last season she averaged 14.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals on 35.7% from 3-point range.

There's no question Atkins will make the Sky a better team this season, but to what extent? The Sky aren't a contender. Could they get back into the playoffs after their various offseason moves, which includes adding a few other veterans such as Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen? Yes, but there's no guarantee. This is a win-now move for a team that went 13-27 last season in the first year of a rebuild.

The bigger concerns with this trade reach beyond this season. Atkins, along with nearly every other player not on a rookie scale contract, will become a free agent next year when a new collective bargaining agreement is expected to be in place. Does she want to be in Chicago long-term? No one knows how the 2026 offseason is going to shake out, and there's a very real possibility that Atkins is a one-year rental. (The Sky could core Atkins, assuming the core designation still exists in the new CBA, but if she makes it clear she doesn't want to re-sign they may have to sign-and-trade her.)

Furthermore, the Sky gave up a first-round pick swap in 2027, when the likes of JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo are expected to enter the league. The Sky obviously hope that they won't be a lottery team at that point, but it's not out of the question, and after the 2025 lottery they should know better than anyone that swaps can come back to bite you.

The Sky added a borderline All-Star, and that can't be ignored, but there's a lot of risk here for an organization that has been burned by making short-sighted moves in the very recent past.

Grade: C

Mystics receive

• No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft
• Rights to swap first-round picks with the Sky in the 2027 WNBA Draft
• Second-round pick in the 2027 WNBA Draft

The Mystics had just sort of been hanging out all winter, but they finally jumped into the mix with a move that definitively clarifies their direction.

"In many ways [this trade is] a clear reflection of our commitment to build toward a new era," Mystics general manager Jamila Wideman told ESPN in a statement.

"It's a great time if your plan is to draft, develop, nurture and compete. The future of this game is bright. A lot of those lights are shining right now in college, certainly ... you have to position yourself to become a destination for the best talent the game has to offer. We felt like this year and this year's draft was a tool we could use to do that. As we look forward, we believe the same is true for upcoming drafts as well."

It is officially rebuild time in D.C., and the Mystics now have three of the top six picks in the 2025 draft: Nos. 3, 4 and 6.

That not only gives them the chance to add a lot of young talent, but also the ability to take some swings. For example, they could take Malonga at No. 3, Citron and No. 4 and Jocytė at No. 6. That would be two European teenagers with super high ceilings and one established NCAA guard with a high floor.

There have also been rumors that Bueckers isn't thrilled about playing in Dallas. The Mystics now have a serious war chest of picks, young players and veterans. If they tried to move up to No. 1, would the Wings take that call? Maybe not, but the Mystics should make it anyway.

The Mystics will miss Atkins, who helped bring them their only championship back in 2019, but they weren't going to make any noise this season and were heading toward a complete reset in 2026. Trading her for the No. 3 pick, a 2027 swap and a 2027 second-rounder is excellent business.

Grade: A+