Chicago Sky Cut Hailey Van Lith, Sign Natasha Cloud

Hailey Van Lith’s time with the Chicago Sky is over — and it ended almost as fast as it began.

The Sky waived the 24-year-old guard on Monday, less than a year after drafting her with the 11th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Within the same hour, Chicago announced it had signed veteran guard Natasha Cloud to a one-year, $550,000 deal. The message was clear: the Sky are done waiting on potential. They want proven production now.

The timing made the move sting even more for Van Lith’s supporters — especially fans who noticed that Chicago had protected her in the expansion draft just weeks earlier. But the numbers told a story the organization couldn’t ignore. In 29 games last season, Van Lith never cracked the starting lineup, averaging 3.5 points on 33.9% shooting and 1.6 assists in just 12.4 minutes a night. Her 3-point shooting, already a concern coming out of college at 33.8%, cratered to a brutal 16.1% in the pros. She also averaged 1.2 turnovers per game — nearly matching her assist total.

A Rough Rookie Year That Had No Easy Answers

Van Lith’s path to the WNBA was anything but conventional. After three seasons at Louisville and one at LSU — where she famously shared a locker room with Angel Reese — she transferred to TCU for a fifth college year, a decision that drew criticism at the time. Van Lith didn’t apologize for it.

“I’m not gonna allow people to make me feel bad because I was blessed with this opportunity to play five years,” she said in March 2025. “For a female in sports, the reality is the professional level just isn’t as accessible or attainable as the men’s side. So, to maximize on your brand and what you bring to the table and capitalize on your name, image and likeness, you have to take advantage of that in college.”

The TCU gamble paid off on paper. She earned multiple Big 12 honors, helped the Horned Frogs win a Big 12 championship, and made it to the Elite Eight. Her draft stock rose. Chicago came calling.

But the WNBA is a different world. At 5-foot-9 — and by some accounts potentially listed generously — Van Lith needed elite quickness and shooting to carve out space in a league that has gotten longer and more athletic every year. She had neither in her rookie season. The lefty struggled to create the same separation she found in college, and her 3-point shot — always a question mark — fell apart completely under professional defense.

Then came the injury that accelerated everything. On June 7, 2025, starting point guard Courtney Vandersloot tore the ACL in her right knee against the Indiana Fever. Suddenly Van Lith was being asked to carry far more responsibility than a rookie in her situation should have to shoulder. The Sky tried to ease the burden by leaning on veteran Rachel Banham at times, but Van Lith never found her footing. She couldn’t settle into a rhythm as either a scorer or a facilitator, and nagging ankle injuries kept pulling her in and out of the rotation. She had surgery in the offseason to address the issue — but it wasn’t enough to get her off the roster bubble heading into training camp.

The preseason had offered a flicker of hope. Van Lith averaged 12.5 points on 71.4% shooting with 4.5 assists across two games. On April 25, she went a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor against the Phoenix Mercury, finishing with 20 points. That kind of performance made Monday’s news land even harder for her fans.

Why Natasha Cloud Changes the Equation

Cloud brings exactly what Van Lith couldn’t deliver: experience, defensive versatility, and the kind of floor-general presence that a rebuilding team desperately needs. The 34-year-old spent last season starting 41 games for the New York Liberty, averaging 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals. Before that, over 38 starts with the Phoenix Mercury, she averaged 11.5 points, 6.9 assists and 1.4 steals while earning second-team All-Defensive honors. She’s also Washington’s all-time leader in assists and a WNBA champion, having won the title with the Mystics in 2019.

“Natasha is one of the best passers and defenders in our league,” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement. “She fits in with the other proven winners on our roster.”

Cloud slots in seamlessly alongside Skylar Diggins and Jacy Sheldon while Vandersloot and forward Azurá Stevens continue managing their recoveries. She gives head coach Tyler Marsh options — a three-guard lineup, a steady backup role, a defensive anchor. At this stage of the season, that flexibility is invaluable.

What makes Cloud’s arrival even more layered is the conversation that preceded it. The veteran guard spent most of the offseason unsigned despite her production, and many around the league believed she was being quietly pushed out over her outspoken political views. Sue Bird addressed it directly on her podcast, A Touch More.

“I personally don’t want to live in a world where Natasha Cloud is being punished for being outspoken. It is not what our league has been built on,” Bird said. “In fact, being outspoken is part of the fabric of our league; it’s what connects us to our fan base. Actually, Tash is a great example of that. We’ve actually changed the world. I’m not even joking. Yes, we’ve changed things for our league, but I think that has trickled into the actual society that we live in. And it’s what has gotten us to where we are today. So for me, that would be the antithesis of the WNBA’s identity for Tash to be blackballed in this way.”

Whether Bird’s words moved the needle in Chicago’s front office is impossible to know. But the timing — Bird speaks, Cloud gets signed — is hard to ignore.

What’s Next for Van Lith

The Sky also waived second-round picks Maddy Westbeld and Aicha Coulibaly on Monday, as Chicago continues reshaping a roster that went 10-34 last season and tied for last in the WNBA. The offseason has been aggressive — most notably, the team traded two-time All-Star Angel Reese to Atlanta last month, ending the LSU reunion that had briefly reunited Van Lith with her former college teammate.

The door hasn’t fully closed on Van Lith in Chicago. She could return on a developmental contract, which would allow her to stay with the organization and appear in up to 12 games this season. If that doesn’t materialize, she’ll join a growing list of high WNBA draft picks from recent years still searching for a place to prove themselves in a league with limited roster spots and zero margin for a slow start.

She’s 24, she’s a 2024 Olympic bronze medalist in 3×3 basketball, and she clearly has the talent — the preseason numbers proved that much. But in a league this competitive, a 16.1% three-point percentage doesn’t buy you time. Chicago is opening the 2026 season Saturday on the road against the expansion Portland Fire, and they needed someone ready right now.

Natasha Cloud is ready. Hailey Van Lith’s next chapter is still being written.