{"id":49692,"date":"2026-04-09T13:22:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wnba-trade-talk-chicago-sky-la-sparks-negotiating-player-swap\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:22:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:22:53","slug":"wnba-trade-talk-chicago-sky-la-sparks-negotiating-player-swap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wnba-trade-talk-chicago-sky-la-sparks-negotiating-player-swap\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Trade Talk: Chicago Sky, LA Sparks Negotiating Player Swap"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Negotiations are underway between the Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks for a potential player exchange involving All-Star guard Ariel Atkins and forward Rickea Jackson, according to a Thursday report from Front Office Sports.<\/p>

While no deal has been completed, sources indicate an official announcement could come this Saturday if talks progress successfully.<\/p>

The 29-year-old Atkins posted solid numbers during her debut season with Chicago in 2025, recording 13.1 points per game along with 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals across 34 contests, starting every game.<\/p>

Atkins brings championship experience to any team, having won a WNBA title with Washington in 2019. Throughout her professional career spanning stints with the Mystics from 2018-24 and now Chicago, she has compiled averages of 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals over 251 games with 246 starts. The seventh overall selection in the 2018 draft has earned five All-Defensive team honors and maintains a solid 36.2% accuracy rate from beyond the arc.<\/p>

Meanwhile, Jackson put together an impressive 2025 campaign for Los Angeles, contributing 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while starting 37 of 38 appearances.<\/p>

The 25-year-old forward entered the league as the fourth pick in the 2024 draft and immediately made her mark by earning All-Rookie team recognition. Her strong play continued into 2025, where she placed ninth in MVP consideration. Over her two-year professional career spanning 78 games with 72 starts, Jackson has maintained averages of 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.<\/p>

This potential move would mark Chicago’s second significant roster change this week, following Monday’s trade that sent two-time All-Star Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for two first-round draft selections.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks are reportedly discussing a trade that would send All-Star guard Ariel Atkins to LA in exchange for forward Rickea Jackson. An announcement could come as early as Saturday if negotiations are finalized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":49691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775755373117.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-cVu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50955,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/chicago-sky-trade-for-rising-star-forward-rickea-jackson-in-multi-player-deal\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":0},"title":"Chicago Sky Trade for Rising Star Forward Rickea Jackson in Multi-Player Deal","author":"Admin","date":"April 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chicago Sky has obtained forward Rickea Jackson from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for guard Ariel Atkins. The team also signed free agent DiJonai Carrington and re-signed veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776025339823.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50606,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wnba-forward-azura-stevens-returns-to-chicago-sky-after-sparks-stint\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":1},"title":"WNBA Forward Azura Stevens Returns to Chicago Sky After Sparks Stint","author":"Admin","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Professional basketball player Azura Stevens has signed a three-year contract to return to the Chicago Sky after spending three seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. The 30-year-old forward previously helped the Sky win a WNBA championship in 2021.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775928125442.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50248,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/angel-reese-trade-sparks-massive-ticket-sales-surge-for-atlanta-dream\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":2},"title":"Angel Reese Trade Sparks Massive Ticket Sales Surge for Atlanta Dream","author":"Admin","date":"April 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Atlanta Dream experienced their biggest single-day ticket sales spike in franchise history after acquiring WNBA star Angel Reese from Chicago. StubHub reported demand jumped 15 times normal levels following the Monday trade announcement.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775841818509.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":47933,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wnba-star-angel-reese-moves-from-chicago-sky-to-atlanta-dream\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":3},"title":"WNBA Star Angel Reese Moves from Chicago Sky to Atlanta Dream","author":"Admin","date":"April 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chicago Sky have sent power forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028. Reese, who dominated the boards during her two seasons in Chicago, thanked the city in an emotional farewell message on social media.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775496122560.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50614,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/chicago-sky-trade-for-guard-jacy-sheldon-send-2028-draft-pick-to-washington\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":4},"title":"Chicago Sky Trade for Guard Jacy Sheldon, Send 2028 Draft Pick to Washington","author":"Admin","date":"April 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chicago Sky have obtained guard Jacy Sheldon from the Washington Mystics in exchange for a first-round draft selection in 2028. The 25-year-old former Ohio State standout has played for three WNBA teams since being drafted fifth overall in 2024.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775928981077.jpg?fit=450%2C274&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61764,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/chicago-sky-releases-first-round-pick-hailey-van-lith-among-multiple-cuts\/","url_meta":{"origin":49692,"position":5},"title":"Chicago Sky Releases First-Round Pick Hailey Van Lith Among Multiple Cuts","author":"Admin","date":"May 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Chicago Sky released rookie guard Hailey Van Lith, their 11th overall draft pick from 2025, along with two other first-year players as WNBA teams finalize rosters. Van Lith averaged 3.5 points per game in her debut season after a standout college career.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1777940569917.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}