The Chicago Sky waived Hailey Van Lith on Monday and signed veteran Natasha Cloud to a one-year, $555,000 deal days before the regular season begins.
The Chicago Sky waived second-year guard Hailey Van Lith on Monday and signed 10-year WNBA veteran Natasha Cloud. Both moves come days before the regular season begins.
Van Lith, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, was waived because of the team's "style of play preference," ESPN's Kendra Andrews reported. Andrews added that Van Lith is already in talks with multiple teams.
Van Lith played a limited role as a rookie. She averaged 3.5 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 12:27 minutes per game last season.
Cloud's deal is for one year and $555,000, per The Athletic's Annie Costabile. The team announced the signing but, per club policy, did not release terms.
"Natasha is one of the best passers and defenders in our league," Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement, adding that the veteran guard fits alongside the rest of Chicago's established core.
Cloud was drafted No. 15 overall by the Washington Mystics in 2015. She holds career averages of 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. Her first eight WNBA seasons came in Washington, where she still ranks as the franchise's all-time leader in assists with 1,258 and fourth in steals with 236. She earned All-Defensive First Team honors in 2022 and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting that same year.
Last year with the New York Liberty, Cloud started all 41 of her games and averaged 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.2 steals. She averaged 2.7 steals per game in New York's three playoff games. The year before that in Phoenix, she put up 11.5 points, 6.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game and made the All-Defensive Second Team.
The Sky have had a busy offseason. Chicago traded star forward Angel Reese to the Atlanta Dream this winter. They also signed Skylar Diggins, Rickea Jackson, and Jacy Sheldon in free agency.
Cloud joins 2026 first-round pick Gabriela Jacquez in a Chicago backcourt that head coach Tyler Marsh has rebuilt around veteran guards and rookies. Marsh's group finished second-to-last in the league a year ago.
Chicago has held five first-round picks over the past three drafts. After the Reese trade and the Van Lith waiver, only two of those picks remain with the team: Jacquez and 2025 first-rounder Ajša Sivka, who has yet to report.
The Sky open the season this weekend on the road against the expansion Portland Fire.