"Chicago Sky Teresa Witherspoon Postgame I Sky Owner Michael Alter GM Jeff Pagliocca I WNBA 2024"

you're listening to the money mikee syndicated Radio podcast how we doing how we doing I want to talk to you this morning about Teresa rther spoon head coach of the Chicago Sky had a press conference and uh Witherspoon uh it's kind of been taking the podium and uh kind of repeating herself but I want to do some translations of uh what's going on I want to take you through the Chicago Sky organization because this didn't start with Coach Witherspoon and she's getting a hot spot on it or getting on the hot seat for it but you got to look at Michael alter the Chicago Sky owner he's made a commitment and you got Jeff pagi I believe it is I might be way off on the mispronunciation but that's the general manager and he's got a vision but it all has to aligned before it reaches uh Chicago Sky coach Weatherspoon so let's uh let's dig into it a little bit and I'll do some translations as uh coach Witherspoon covers in the press conference because this is interesting involved in a game like this and where do you feel like maybe that was missing well we have to be a little more intentional just like our guards just told you here we have to get the ball inside that's who we are the ball must go inside it has to go inside to our our our bigs they are dominant in there it helps when they dominate the paint then it helps us on the outside it gives us an opportunity to have perimeter game uh they understand how important that is and and what it means to Our Success offensively and just to follow up on that do you feel like that was coming from Angela and Camila not like getting to their spots was it from the guards not like looking for them just where do you think that lack of I probably have to go back to the film and see but there was a lack of Rhythm and flow to try to move the ball and be able to get the ball inside to them from the right person you might not so there it is she's talking about the right person and when you get through this folks this this is uh something I haven't seen in a while and when I tell you I haven't seen in a while you're talking about a coach who's uh kind of breaking down what she has to work with and here's the deal with the Chicago Sky the Chicago Sky I kind of said some things earlier I mean they're not high IQ okay if you got guards that figure they could play in the WNBA but they're also challenged in their ability of making plays and uh how they view the game and you got coach Witherspoon gaining or getting the responsibility when you working with b-level players this is uh kind of tough on spoon because she didn't create it uh you got a general manager created it uh you got an owner that's committed but it's not all coming together and there's reasons why it's not all coming together not be the person to make the pass but who is so let's get the ball to the right person to make the pass inside and then we play off of that that's who we are that's what we do and that's when we become a better team at this point in the season what is this team missing the team is missing actual for straight loss this one by by 19 points after four by no more than four points what is this team missing we have a lot of things that we need to correct and it starts on the defensive side of the ball we are a defensive team offensive runs and then we're not getting stops we're not being disruptive we're allowing teams to get shots where they wanted how they wanted when they want it ball moves swings from one side to the other whether it gets to the second side even the third side it's very difficult to defend that it's very and folks you got to have players to do that you got to here here's the thing when you get players that have been on one two three four five G okay let me tell you what let me tell you what you got there folks you got players that nobody else wants okay uh they've been around and that's a bad habit of the WNBA they got WNBA has got a bad habit of letting players playing for a lot of teams you got practically you got some of them that played for every team in the league okay so this thing of recycling players in the WNBA there's no win in it uh there's no win in it for the Chicago Sky Chicago Sky have had this problem that Chicago Sky the owner is own the organization to since 2006 okay the Chicago Sky got a miracle okay and won the WNBA Championship uh being the first WNBA team to win a championship that didn't have a winning record uh they were 16 and 16 and went on and won the championship so you got you got you got to give him some credibility but at the same time I mean you you got Witherspoon doesn't have a full deck and tough to coach so we have to be better on the defensive side of the ball all five players all five players all right you got to be disciplined when you're guarding the ball you can't allow anybody to get be behind you you keep the ball in front of you when you're closing out which is probably the most difficult thing in the game of basketball you got to be able to close out and be able to defend those people put the ball on the floor so that's defending off the bounce and then see you don't have players that could do that and and when you when you get stuck in a situation like the Chicago sky are you know I mean you coach Witherspoon could tell you every single step in the game but if I don't have players that can execute that you know and and you look at the Chicago Sky they don't have the players I mean they just don't have the players they played the Indiana Fever okay the Indiana Fever last night it was an embarrassment it was an embarrassment for the Chicago sky but that had nothing to do with Coach Withers SPO okay you got to put this thing in perspective and what's going on okay because when you put it in perspective you got to take a look at saying who I mean who's making these shots because you brought Witherspoon in the coach okay but the general manager Jeff Jeff right there is the general manager okay and he has made his decision on what he wants to do now he's got to align that decision and he's got to maintain that decision that's going to be right there what he says he's going to do and if he doesn't do that folks that's a tougher ticket because he's not reaching his expectation of what he said he was going to do and that is where you got the Indiana Fever here's where the problem lies and here here you could take a listen to this and it's gonna tell you yeah we we just want players that uh are are competitive and uh want to be coached hard and you know we have a lot of those those players here already and uh just you know it's it's going to be an energized new new chapter with with Teresa coach and the team she she brings so much you know obviously as a a Hall of Fame player and lots of coaching experience Player Development background but um you know from from my end you know we have so much to to work with and be excited about so you see where he's talking about it folks and he's breaking down that's what he said he wanted to see happen Player Development but none of that has happened on the player development in and it makes it a little bit harder for him to do his job for Teresa Witherspoon to do the job and when you get it like this folks this thing comes across in a different way and it it really just doesn't fit it doesn't fit you got you got to know this and the reason I'm telling you this is because everything that he has committed to do you're not the only one diving into those numbers to figure out which players you want to be able to acquire yeah I think analytics has to play a pivotal piece and and taking a look at at players and and their value and and how they're evolving um from season to season or or from even from game to game uh I know I used it regularly um when whether putting Scouts together for for NBA or WNBA players or taking a look from week to week or even when you're building offseason plans um you want to look at you know numbers and you know identify places on the floor uh where they need to improve or where they like catching the ball um and and you kind of grow from there and build out of those things so I so analytics is where he put it okay when he drafted uh Angel Rees Carmo cardosa analytics this situation here this is the Money Mike City KY Radio podcast we're powered up by Fanatics and we're bringing it to you straight across the board this morning we got Teresa Witherspoon we are giving a strong recap reaction to what's going on because the Chicago Sky you got to understand this come Jeff pagala this comes out of the general manager okay the general manager is calling the shots on the Chicago Sky not Teresa Witherspoon last night I saw something that was very very interesting to me and when I call it interesting it's just to let you know I hadn't seen that happen before uh the both players enter emptied the bench but uh it went on to get Angel Reese the double double now you know there there's a lot of support that's around this uh you got Dwayne Wade's up there he's a part owner and you know the Chicago Sky owner you know I mean he's made a commitment he gave up uh ownership uh percentage uh invited some investors in to give the Chicago Sky fans a better opportunity okay to get a champion okay he wants to win and and the timing was tough I mean you're coming off of Corona but the timing gets a little tough because you got an owner that wants to win okay so he gives up part of the franchise he's been the owner since 2006 Okay and like I said they got very lucky 16 I think it's 221 they won the actual uh WNBA championship and when you look at the sky and how the sky were able to do it and what they were able to do and you know you got you got to put it in perspective because they've been an up and down organization the entire time he's been an ownership and when you get there and you go okay how are we going to do it what's going to happen uh the Chicago Sky I mean he's been through a lot of coaches he had coach Wade one of the best coaches he had and they've been up and down up and down the entire time I mean it's never been anything and like I said they finished 16 and 16 20 20 21 you got you got to put this in perspective of under coach Wade right they finished 16 and6 221 they go out there and they get the Rhythm and they win in the playoffs okay they get the first round done they get the semifinal done and then they go ahead and win the whole thing in 2021 okay but what happened after that uh they went through another general manager I think it's Michael way they went through him and they get the gut the entire program they gutted the entire organization folks they gutted the entire organization they're starting from scratch and that's where the actual Chicago sky are now there is nothing to work with you got two post players you got the general manager here Jeff talking about development he says look I want to get this development this is what I want to see happen this is how I want to see it done okay but if you got Angel Reese who's not developing it I'll tell you that's that's a tough one that's a tough one for me that one gets tougher and tougher because as I was thinking about it last night and it kind of frustrated me and I kind of looked through it and I said man what's going on okay well I figured it out okay you got all of Caitlyn Clark's endorsements everything can be done in the gym every every commercial every she doesn't have to go anywhere you got Angel Reese has got a lot of sponsorships got a lot of off the court work I don't think she has enough time to prep for basketball and I don't think that's going to really change because you know that's what's been aot and that's what Jep had said this is where we're going but when you get back to spoon and you and you start listening to spoon talk and you and you hear what spoon is saying you just got to buckle up CU she has nothing to work with on the Chicago Sky it's a tough ticket to manage really tough those who can shoot it you want to be able to make sure you're out there to contest and contain and then be able to do both it's an approach it's an approach it is nothing more than an approach and defense is a will and a want too it's a desire and defense is the hardest damn thing you gonna play in this game the hardest thing so you got you got Jeff wanted somebody that was going to coach him up hard he wanted somebody to coach him up hard he got wither spoon that's what she's doing now the players are too fragile they're too fragile and you know the fragile showed later in the game okay when they're trying to bang Caitlyn Clark all around the floor cuz you got beat okay you got beat you got beat okay uh Angel Reed's uh defensive uh trans you saw that right from the start of the game okay you got beat and you know what you can't get the coach keep going to the podium when you know I could said she out of 52 cards she's got 46 she's playing with and guys this is not this is this is more than comical more than play this game it's to defend and you do so under control without fouling in that third quarter we sent them to the line over and over and over over and over and over we can talk about whatever the referee did and and that's it's what it is what it is on that and I'm I'm like and that and that when she is right that one there spoon is right okay cuz spoon's telling it 100% let me tell you something folks I have never ever ever ever in basketball okay and I've seen a lot of uh more than my share but I've never seen officiating like we're getting now first The Narrative was this is WNBA the women are competitive that ain't the point that ain't the case and that ain't what's going down on the court okay and I and I kind of mentioned Tom Drakeford out of Delaware Del delvar Sports okay delvar Sports I mean Tom's been around forever going strong 80 years old has put U just hundreds of NBA officials uh through training okay delv Sports he runs the proam I think the deal with the officiating the WNBA you got the NBA has got the best of the best okay and they they they grind it out every night and they they call a decent game they have up and down but they don't have swings okay I think you got the NCAA has got the next crop okay and I think the WNBA you know for the pay I think they got the bottom of the crap but the WNBA can get better officials okay these are all the things Cathy ellberg that's a military operation tap the El West Point you got you got this is a military operation going on here folks and when you build an organization or you build something I mean it's going to operate just like America United States military right that's that's what you got so you got you got this whole thing with the officials just out of control you might go in a game you might lose a jaw you might lose an eye you might lose an arm and it is not consistent it is all over the place and that's what you know everybody's talking about cuz you got spoon saying look I don't want to I I don't want to pay any money I mean because you know what they're getting every time you can talk about officials or you say anything about official they're going to take the money from you so you don't do it but this one here has gotten to the point where she doesn't have anything to work with and I to get fined I don't need to get fined so I think that's enough tells you enough of what I think about how it's ref coach spoon you guys opened up the game and you guys have really preached punching first and that just wasn't there in the second half I know film will probably show you something but what kind of what did you see where the energy was lost in that second half I can't really tell you until I take a look at that film but like you said that energy we came out with in the beginning that's exactly how we have to play you have to punch but you can't punch once you got to keep punching like and and that's what you don't got folks you got B players on the court you got B player I I I'm telling you now these you know way way the game works you get some people can't play in this league find the Landy way they've been around okay they've been around the game's changing okay the game's changing you got Camila kadosa okay is is a diamond in the rough that uh you know what can take this thing wherever you want to take it okay now you got Angel Reese who I mean let's face it this is a disappointing te you can go to all the rebounds you want but with me you know I'm come around the game and you know what there's I've seen a lot of great players a lot of great women players and because a player gets 20 rebounds 20 plus rebounds three times times in or three or four maybe five times in a year you know what if a player in the NBA gets 50 points they're not they three times in a game three games okay and they have to play the rest of the year and they don't succeed they're not Rookie of the Year they're not MVP okay you're not MVP you you got to put this thing where it belongs and you can't fabricate it you can't put it in there and I know the deal I can tell you this things is higher up okay you got Michael alter you got Jeff p i excuse me you got Jeff p general manager and then you got Witherspoon okay by the time you get down to Witherspoon decisions at the top have already been made okay they already been made I I got I got the I got Chicago guy you know what you got in Chicago you got the toughest media you're going to find next to New York right they're every day they're looking to crucify okay so I got the media asking spoon questions about what can we do you can't do anything you don't have the players you don't have the players okay period period I'm telling you when you look at the fever and you look at the sky here's a deal that The Fever did the fever went through the draft okay and they've been these poundings and beatings for so long but you got to understand they drafted Mitchell in 218 okay and they drafted all the players they have now Chicago Sky didn't do it it's been an in and- out shuffle the deck in and out in and out in and out I mean they've had every Star in the WNBA the history of stars they had but they're not their organization is not built to win it's always overturning and now they got to say to themselves we got drapping let's go back and and I'll Tell You Folks this one here you I mean you there's nothing wither spoon can do I wish she had something she could but there's nothing she could do we always says 40 minutes to this game and you're gonna have a team like that who have runs but now we have to remain composed and poised enough to break the Run that's the game the game is just like this but once the team get on the Run how do you stop it how do you stop it you execute your offensive stuff you get back you get defensive stuff and that's basic IQ that's about as basic you get I mean you a get any more basic than that okay you get stops okay and you execute and they can't do that that that is that it's shocking Evans it shocking the shields was a high pick it's shocking okay that when you get to the point that you're folling a player because you're getting whipped you're getting whipped on the court and when you and I and I'll say this I I I I really believe this in the bottom of my heart with Angel Reese I believe it in the bottom of my heart Angel Reese can make more money and it's bigger than the WNBA okay Angel Reese is bigger than the WNBA what I mean by that angel Reese could do three millions a year make 60 million go over there fashion model there's so many other off thec Court activities or not really off thec Court act these are not activities this this is a career she has in fashion modeling acting okay and and it and it is what it is I mean Jim Brown was the greatest running back to ever played a game but Jim Brown left the game went into acting had a contract dispute right well Angel Reese has got all this going on with basketball you got Shaquille o'neals my daughter everything but if it don't connect I mean if you don't develop the player and you just go off the analytics the analytics the analytics the analytics the analytics you're dead in the water you're dead in the water and that's what Jeff P's got I mean he's punching out analytics you you got to go to the draft and you got to get Witherspoon some players because you know what Christy sides was right there where she was last year Chicago's guy can come back turn this around and be back on the books again but man you ain't going to get it with what you got in the deck now and the reporters are asking the questions the reporter the true questions the reporter should be asking is when are you going to as Deion Sanders say when you going to back up the truck as the NFL says when are you going to back up the truck because you got to get the dump truck in here and you got you got to go out there and get your draft picks train them your way build them your way develop them your way okay because if you put the analytics out there and you just go off analytics that they're they're not even close they can't even explain I guarantee you this and I'd put a lot of money on it you if Teresa Witherspoon sent the Chicago Sky players to the board and say draw it up okay this little thing I learned in women's basketball too there's a good majority of players if you you could use a clipboard they don't even understand the clipboard okay and that's what you got going on here they have no idea what you're trying to do so the players take the podum we got to look at film we got to get better what are you going to get better at you're you're 30 plus games in the 44 Game season where where are you going to get better at okay you've been doing this long enough you're a pearl okay there's no more room you don't have any more room so what do you do you let the coach take the pounding for your weakness there's no there's nothing there Jeff P there's nothing there Michael alter I mean I mean you got to look at it and say you know what okay we could dump this on somebody okay Jeff be because I mean it rolls downhill so oh we could blame it on the coach that buys us more time or you can go out and get her some players to win with and if you do that okay the owner has given up partial stake brought investors he's got a whole another group of investors okay that have come in there and and and and he's got to be able to do what he said he's going to do he gave up part of the franchise okay it's a different franchise folks it's not a Double Dipper okay this is not the Chicago Bulls owner okay owning the Chicago Sky okay that's not the case okay you got Michael alter's run this course by himself okay uh went through the co the whole process I mean he's a pretty good businessman do B business man but you know I mean I mean he took an extra step leap of faith okay and when you do that got Dwayne Wade in the middle of this Dwayne Wade and Shaq they're they're going to put their hands in this organization and you got to understand something to Jeff P okay all this goes down before it even reaches coach Cooper okay I always say coach Cooper excuse me coach Withers SP this all goes down before it even reaches her desk okay and and I'm talking about an organization here folks that you got to put in perspective 221 they were 16 and 16 had turned that around and won a championship and won a championship okay that I mean I mean you just they they they rolled the dice put it on Snake Eyes Ace a came up and they were WNBA Champions but that hasn't been the history the history has been a revolving door in and out of players okay I'm sure Michael alter is just tired of it I mean he's exhausted I mean he's done everything he can so you try to go through it you get another general manager that didn't work okay so now you get another general manager here Jeff p and so Jeff P has got to put all this together but he's also got to put it together so it works and if it doesn't work then it hasn't come together and so you leave it to the thing now who's got to take the bullets for a full year that's Witherspoon and Witherspoon is doing her best to take all you heard your guards say that the veterans just need to step up here on this team with this being such a young team what do you ask of your veterans how what is it that they can do to kind of show these rookies and these young players what to do to win basketball well in times like these this this is the the most important time to show the example of leadership the most important time because of you know sometimes it get a little chaotic out there and chaos is happening but you got to gather your troops gather your troops and the way things are refereed you just have to make your adjustments as well as well as I and this is the time where you have to tell them it's time to find a new job okay some of you guys going to be looking for a new job it's not going to be in the WNBA okay because you're not qualified to play in the WNBA and after you've been on multiple teams and you haven't figured it out this is the Money Mike cated Radio podcast and I'm really just trying to bring you something here we're powered up by Fanatics so we got good gear for you looking the description click your box but here we're here to tell you the story this is not a Witherspoon issue okay this is a situation where you have signed players based off of Analytics and Money Mike's always going to tell you I go through the itest I got to put my eyes on you to see if you can play okay so when I look at these guards and I got their agents complaining man you better go try to find them a job they're auditioning for other teams and when you get a situation like that I can go through the lineup one by one by one okay and if you can't get this job done you don't belong in the WNBA and the Chicago fan here's the deal Chicago fan they got behind you because you brought in Angel Reese okay Angel Reese man oh man that's kind of been a disappointment because Angel Reese didn't bring in the team leadership that you thought you were getting from coming to the championship program at LSU Angel Reese played around a lot of good players okay she wasn't the only player that carried them to the championship okay Caitlyn Clark carried Iowa okay you got to understand okay you got to understand that's a little different okay you got Camila cardosa carried South Carolina okay but she also had great players around her too so they weren't they even though they were high in the draft they were just role players they weren't leaders or actually the determined factor of whether or not they won the Championships there but they got to develop and players like that they have the skill set you can forget about telling me angel re can't dribble the basketball angel Reese is showing that and every player is deal and all Chicago sky and all WNBA fans whenever I do things like this I'm just talking directly to players every player's got 25 to 50 I know the NBA has got 25 to 50 guys to get the word back okay Chicago Sky got players that are not very good so you can get the word back on that it's Deion Sanders this time you back the dump truck up and you know what you're going to be hey you're really going to be looking for another job okay you're not going to have a job with the Chicago Sky I can guarantee you that and if you can't do that you're going to come back and look at the same performance because the guards are not good enough okay they don't shoot it enough okay you got Bantam coming over from the with the sun Attitude how to get past it mentally and this is what we got to do you got an old be that's been around that just really trying to speak highly but guys we're 33 games in the season I mean my my my Chicago Sky we're we're 33 games into the season you got 10 more games pack your bags exit meeting and good luck to you okay that that really where Jeff P should be and Witherspoon can go take a break because this thing with Angel Reese when I see a head coach not mention a player in a press conference and hasn't done it for a while let me just tell you they're not following and doing what they need to be done that needs to come through Player Development okay okay it's Jeff P the general manager talked about I want to develop them they didn't develop Angel Reese this year okay I I'll lay that one out and and there's no reason to to be upset or anything and and they have all these expectations but they didn't develop Angel reath okay and sometimes you miss okay but you know what I mean you get better players and you come in there you stick with the draft and you train and build your own Chicago Sky have never been an organization that's really done that they've really gone out got veterans put them together get him on the floor and they try to put a reputable team on the floor but it's not going to be the best team so you know to tell you this this not a coach Witherspoon problem that that that's not what you got here okay you just got a problem where you got a lot of people are sitting here who have made the decision and when they make a decision like they've made they've got to stand for it they got to stand behind it and when it doesn't work every single team you know is putting a much more of a premium on on the analytics and aside and and I think without it you know you're you're a step behind you have had the opportunity to do it through these past few years how much do you feel like you're getting better information than even a few years ago and again you know to me I keep going back to thinking from the media side of things we're not necessarily getting all the same things public facing that the data is that is available in the W but I know internally the WNBA has lacked that you know even Ju Just Basics like having that data available in various NBA arenas but not WNBA Arenas right and I think please standardizing that stuff I think is trying to be a priority um and and there are a lot of uh gyms with that that software and and technology in them and uh you need to have it you need to have it immediately and um you know whether it's during games or you know by halftime or a lot of players they want to see you know their areas you know immediately you know and that's the best thing you could say on the plus minus but I will tell you this he's an analytics guy he's an analytics guy and when you get an analytics guy man it's different than the it test guy you get a guy like Danny AES that's the eye tester you know general manager Utah Utah is going to be going he already built Boston sometimes you get in there folks and you're hear the analytics but you got to get back to what it actually is and the game is still a game you got you got to be able to play it and you get guys you you see players do successful things or take shots in certain places and you know analytics oh it's dangerous it's dangerous because when the player the analytics don't show the player's heart they analytics doesn't show The Player's determination doesn't show the way the will to win however in the game of basketball today the analytics play an important part I mean they play an important part because if you can find out where a player is most successful successful and you know they're going to be most successful in this spot then you start kind of restricting their shots okay you start restricting their shots because the shots that they want to take they're not shooting a great percentage okay so that that's kind of where the Chicago Sky they're all over the place you say they don't shoot threes the other night they came out they didn't have any choice because they couldn't get in the paint they couldn't get to the paint where they needed to be and that what did that do that forced Chicago Sky to St three points ERS it gave him a false identity for about what a quarter and a half and then after that reality strep back in it's kind of like boxing if you look at boxing you can get a great trainer a boxer can get a new trainer okay but when the fight breaks out they always revert to what they know that's what the Chicago Sky did I want to break that down you got an owner micheel alter okay you got a general manager Jeff P talks about Player Development analytics they didn't develop at Angel Reese and didn't get that one right this year cuz their shooting is nowhere near where it should be and then you get past that okay you get to with spoon so why everybody's really getting on Witherspoon like I said I was an appreciative to have a player go after continue a record in garbage time I mean they dump benches and now you're going against the reserves to get what you need that's a bad decision you know but but that's the organization's decision okay that's not wither spoon it is what it is this is the Money Mike cic K Radio podcast we'll take you behind the scenes on that kind of open up the deck let you know uh how does Chicago Sky operate Who's involved what's involved and they're a new organization trying to get it right they haven't been able to do that over the years Michael alter has thrown up his hands said look he's got multitude of investors uh did a valuation got a capital raise in there so he could do more okay but it is what it is this year next year you could put a little more expectation on it they'll be a better team this is the Money Mike syndicated Radio podcast we're powered up by Fanatics we'll tell you this all things are possible to those who believe and we'll see you soon