Riot Fest announced Wednesday that it is moving to SeatGeek Stadium in the southwest suburb. The music festival will run from Sept. 20-22 — conflicting with the Sept. 21 Red Stars-San Diego Wave match. The decision drew ire from Red Stars leadership, which is now scrambling to find a new home for a nationally broadcast match in a whiplash moment only days after drawing a league-record crowd for a match at Wrigley Field.

“It’s devastating,” team President Karen Leetzow told the Tribune. “It’s devastating to have to go from that kind of a high to this kind of a low, to tell your staff and players that this is the level of respect we’ve gotten immediately after delivering that event.”

Bridgeview mayor Steven Landek first informed the Red Stars in early May of a potential need to vacate the stadium for the Sept. 21 game. Following an initial conversation, the Red Stars never received a follow-up or logistical support from the mayor’s office, even after reaching out for clarification, sources told the Tribune. The Red Stars found out Bridgeview was moving forward with plans to use the stadium on that date when a lawyer with Riot Fest reached out to the club earlier this month in regards to signing a contract with the village. The Tribune left a message for Landek seeking comment on the situation.

The current lease allows for SeatGeek and the city to host ancillary events at the same time as Red Stars games. However, the lease specifies that the stadium must be available for the specified use, which includes parking and accessibility to the stadium. The scope of Riot Fest raises other concerns — for instance, how noise pollution from a multistage festival could interfere with the ability of a referee to officiate the game as well as the safety of players, staff and fans coming and going to the stadium — that led the Red Stars to feel it would be impossible to host the previously scheduled game.

As of Wednesday, the Red Stars had not received any information on the logistics of how the events would be able to coexist on match day or even how Riot Fest planned to use the space.

The Red Stars have not located a new venue for the match and aren’t certain they will have an appropriate replacement on the same date. The Cubs play host to the Nationals on Sept. 21 at Wrigley Field while the White Sox will be on a six-game swing in California, leaving Guaranteed Rate Field unoccupied. Neither the Bears nor Fire plays at Soldier Field on that date, but sources told the Tribune that the Red Stars have been informed the stadium will not be available. Even if the Red Stars find an appropriate replacement venue, the cost could be prohibitively steep.

If the Red Stars are able to find a new location for the game, the club would want fees and costs to relocate and broadcast the match nationally to come from the involved parties forcing their game out of the stadium. But the club has not received any assurances that either party would contribute to mitigate these costs, sources told the Tribune.

The game holds heightened stakes for the Red Stars and the NWSL as it is slated for a national broadcast on Ion. This complicates the logistics for use of the parking lot amid the festival. Only five of the remaining Red Stars regular-season games are scheduled for a national broadcast.

“It is unfair and unfortunate to have our club put in this situation, shining a light on the vast discrepancies in the treatment of women’s professional sports versus men’s professional sports,” Leetzow said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring our players and fans have a first-rate experience on and off the pitch, and we are working diligently to find a solution that will ensure our September 21st game is a success.”

The conflict comes at a turning point for the Red Stars, who on Saturday drew a league-record 35,038 fans at Wrigley Field for a match against Bay FC.

Photos: Chicago Red Stars set NWSL attendance record at Wrigley Field

The Red Stars have played at SeatGeek since 2016. The stadium’s distance from the city center and lack of transit access have been key points of criticism for the franchise as the team continues to slip behind competitors in attendance. The Chicago Fire in 2019 paid more than $60 million to leave SeatGeek for Soldier Field.

The Red Stars’ SeatGeek lease will expire at the end of 2025. New ownership helmed by Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts has made it clear that relocating the franchise to a stadium inside the city limits is a driving goal for the organization.

Riot Fest — which will be headlined by Beck, Public Enemy, the Marley Brothers and Fall Out Boy — had been a source of contention for residents in North Lawndale since its relocation to Douglass Park in 2015, and before that with locals in Humboldt Park since 2012.

The club hopes to set a National Women’s Soccer League attendance record — and, in the process, pave the way for women’s soccer to stay in the city for good.

The Red Stars announced Friday morning that they were “nearing” the NWSL attendance record, set by the Seattle Reign at 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season appearance on Oct. 6, 2023. Wrigley Field could hold several thousand more, with a capacity of 37,000 seats after the stadium was reconfigured for the Saturday match against Bay FC. The team had sold 22,000 tickets when it provided its last official update May 23.

For longtime Red Stars players such as goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the excitement surrounding the match feels like a sign of changing times under a new ownership group helmed by Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts.

“My first year here (in 2016) we were training in Oak Brook on polo fields,” Naeher said during a news conference Friday. “The trunk of my car was my locker room. So we’ve come a long way. To now have the opportunity to play here at Wrigley is certainly not something that I had on my bingo card of things that were going to happen in my time here in Chicago. But Laura (Ricketts) has come in and she’s worked hard and she’s tried to make a lot of changes — meaningful changes.”

Chicago is one of the longest-standing women’s soccer markets in the country, hosting the Red Stars since 2006 when the club was founded in the now-defunct Women’s Professional Soccer. But for the entirety of that tenure, the team’s home sat more than a half-hour outside the city at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.

The Red Stars have played in Chicago only once in their NWSL history — a 2022 match at Soldier Field that drew a club-record crowd of 23,951 for a doubleheader with the Chicago Fire. But that could change after the team’s lease with SeatGeek ends in 2025.

Establishing a venue within city limits is a crucial goal for Ricketts and team President Karen Leetzow, who told the Tribune in February that ownership has entered the initial stages of locating a new home for the team. And when the Bears and the White Sox this year rolled out proposals for publicly funded stadiums, the Red Stars pushed to join the conversation, a movement that since has earned interest from Illinois legislators.

“Women’s sports need to have a seat at the table,” Leetzow told the Tribune. “We need to be in the mix because otherwise we’re just going to end up chasing our tail around how to grow women’s sports. If you’re a politician, what better way for you to leave a lasting legacy in the state of Illinois or the city of Chicago than to do something that’s never been done, which is provide meaningful funding for women.”

Attendance has been a key issue for the Red Stars throughout their NWSL history. The team drew a franchise-best 5,863 fans per game in 2022, but that still was the fourth-lowest in the league. And as expansion franchises such as Angel City FC continue to lead the way, the Red Stars are only falling further behind, drawing the lowest average attendance in the league in 2021 (3,143) and 2023 (4,848).

The Chicago Fire have benefitted from such a move since the franchise paid more than $60 million to leave SeatGeek for Soldier Field in 2019, breaking a lease that was supposed to run through 2036.

While the pandemic limited the early gains of that move, average attendance jumped to a franchise record 18,170 in 2023 despite the fact the team finished 10-14-10 and missed the playoffs. The move also positioned the Fire for moments like last season’s match against Inter Miami, which drew 62,124 fans despite a no-show from international star Lionel Messi.

For the Red Stars, a potential move into the city is about more than just ticket sales. The team is still striving to establish a stronger foothold in Chicago. After attending Cubs and Bears games, Naeher cited simple differences — being able to take the red line, seeing fans flock to local bars and restaurants before and after games — from the experience the Red Stars currently offer in Bridgeview.

“As a player, it would be great to have a stadium in the city,” Naeher said. “You can feel the energy around the stadium even prior to the game. That’s what being in a city does. That’s what that energy does, that environment does. Just from that perspective, it would be amazing to be down in the city and just have it be more of an event rather than just a game.”

That stadium experience is still out of reach for the Red Stars — but Saturday will offer a glimpse at how the future could look with women’s soccer inside city limits.

A user on X (formerly Twitter) posted — and later deleted — a video of someone he said was himself attempting to ask Carter if she had reached out to Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark since Saturday’s game against the Sky. In the video, a Sky security guard quickly intercepted the man and blocked his camera view of Carter.

That X account had been deleted as of Thursday.

Sky forward Isabelle Harrison posted on X that players “couldn’t even step off the bus” because of the man’s presence. Forward Michaela Onyenwere also posted on X, saying security “did a great job of de-escalating the situation (and) protecting us.”

According to a Chicago Sun-Times report, the man was escorted away by team security — which has been bulked up this season — and police were not called to the scene. But players clearly were rattled by the incident.

“Finding out our teams hotel to pull with a camera as we get off the bus and put it in my teammates face & HARASS her is NASTY WORK,” forward Angel Reese wrote on X. “This really is outta control and needs to STOP.”

finding out our teams hotel to pull with a camera as we get off the bus and put it in my teammates face & HARASS her is NASTY WORK. this really is outta control and needs to STOP.

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) June 5, 2024

Carter has been the focus of intense media coverage after a Flagrant 1 foul on Clark in Saturday’s loss to the Fever. She received a warm reception from Sky fans in her first game back in Chicago on Tuesday.

“I’m truly a passionate person about the game and I’m genuine,” Carter said after practice Monday. “You can ask all my teammates. They’ve gotten to know me. They know the real Chennedy Carter. So I’m just saying, don’t form an opinion off of one little clip.”

Reese received two technical fouls during a dead ball after she was called for a personal foul on Jonquel Jones with 2 minutes, 31 seconds remaining. Referee Charles Watson assessed the initial technical after Reese “disrespectfully addressed” him, according to lead official Maj Forsberg, who spoke to the media after the game.

After the first technical call, Forsberg said Reese “waved off the calling official in resentment to the call,” which earned a second technical and automatic ejection.

A league spokesperson confirmed Wednesday morning that after review, the second technical was rescinded.

Forsberg declined to elaborate on the content of the comment that earned Reese the first technical. Reese had not received a warning earlier in the game, Forsberg said. Per league policy, she will be fined $200 for the first technical.

Coach Teresa Weatherspoon said the officiating crew declined to explain the decision to the Sky coaching staff.

“I tried to get an explanation and I did not,” Weatherspoon said during her postgame news conference. “I don’t know at this moment what has happened.”

Before the ejection, Reese had been an anchor for the Sky on both ends of the court, tallying 13 points, 10 rebounds and a blocked shot. The Sky erased a 17-point first-half deficit to lead by three late in the third quarter, but they trailed by 12 when the ejection occurred.

Bulls players Lonzo Ball, Dalen Terry and Patrick Williams were seated courtside directly in front of the ejection and voiced complaints about the call.

“Ref that threw out (Reese) is weak,” Ball wrote on social media. “You know who you are (Keep ya money Angel I got you).”

Reese responded to Ball’s post with emojis and the words “appreciate you gang!”

appreciate you gang! https://t.co/Aupf0jJU6N

— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) June 5, 2024

Breanna Stewart scored a season-high 33 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Liberty. Sabrina Ionescu added 24 points for New York, which won its fourth straight game.

The Liberty opened with a 21-6 run, making five of their first seven 3-pointers, while the Sky started 3 of 16 from the field. After falling behind 29-12 late in the first quarter, the Sky responded by scoring 33 points in the second to get within 49-48 at the break.

The Liberty started the fourth quarter on a 15-2 run, including 10 straight points, to wipe out a one-point deficit after three quarters and lead 80-68. The score was 83-71 when Reese was ejected.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 14 points for the Liberty, who avenged a 90-81 loss to the Sky on May 23 in New York.

Chennedy Carter scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Sky, while Marina Mabrey scored 15 and Elizabeth Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Kamilla Cardoso, who scored 11 points in her WNBA debut Saturday, was held to one point in 12 minutes. She is on a minutes restriction after her return from injury.

Associated Press contributed.

The network said in a news release that all three teams’ games will be available through “traditional cable providers, streaming services and free, over-the-air broadcast” and “will reach a widely expanded Midwest footprint, including most of Illinois and parts of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, pending league approvals.”

The network offered limited details in the wake of the announcement, and its ownership now faces a short runway to get a new media company off the ground in time for the Bulls and Hawks seasons in the fall.

There are plenty of questions to answer before then. What type of auxiliary programming will be offered? What purchases — such as satellite antenna or cable subscription — would fans need to make in order to watch their teams? And who will be on the air as game commentators, pregame and postgame hosts and sideline talent?

Bulls broadcasters Adam Amin and Stacey King are expected to retain their roles for the 2024-25 season, while a source said on-air talent for the Hawks “is not yet confirmed.”

The Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) said it has begun the hiring process for staff and will announce distribution and media agreements as they are finalized throughout the summer.

The network will be produced in partnership with Nashville, Tenn.-based Standard Media. Jason Coyle, formerly president of the Stadium network, was named CHSN president.

“As we set out to design the network, we began and ended every discussion with the simple question: What is best for our fans?” Coyle said in a statement. “What is the best approach to distribution? How can we push the limits of both in-game and studio production? We plan to serve our fans on as many platforms and in as many markets as our rights allow.”

The teams’ contract with NBC Sports Chicago, which has held the rights for all three teams since 2004, is set to expire in October. NBCSCH will continue to air the remainder of the 2024 Sox season.

Launching a regional network is a common trend in professional sports, with more than 30 teams from the New York Yankees to the Portland Trail Blazers starting their own standalone broadcast companies over the past two decades. Some attempts have been more successful than others: The then-Charlotte Bobcats gave up after a year, the Kansas City Royals never debuted their proposed network and the Houston Rockets have floundered through several rocky trials.

The success of a franchise-affiliated regional network fluctuates depending upon market, accessibility and team success. The concept isn’t new in Chicago, where the Cubs serve as the cornerstone of Marquee Sports Network with additional broadcast offerings for the Sky, Red Stars and regional programming such as the Chicago Hounds rugby team and local college and high school games.

CHSN would differ from Marquee in one key feature: over-the-air (OTA) accessibility.

Viewers can access OTA broadcasts via a satellite antenna, eliminating the need for a cable or streaming subscription. A Bulls source confirmed to the Tribune that all games on CHSN, including Hawks and Sox games, would be available for free OTA.

Tribune reporter Phil Thompson contributed.

After missing the first six games of the season with a shoulder injury, the rookie center played her first minutes as a professional in a 71-70 loss to the Indiana Fever that also served as a reunion with Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

The game reflected the whirlwind experience of a WNBA rookie. Exactly two months had passed since Clark and Reese faced off for the last time as collegiate rivals in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. A week later, Clark and Cardoso played the final game of their college careers for the national championship.

Those memories were fresh for all three rookies as they took the court — and drove another wave of excitement for the sellout crowd of 17,274 fans at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

For Cardoso, Clark and Reese, the NCAA is already several games behind them. But Saturday offered another snapshot of how their dominance at the college level can propel future success for their careers and for women’s basketball.

“There’s a lot of young stars on both teams that people really love coming from the college game to the professional level,” Clark said. “This is fun. These are the types of games that people get really excited about.”

Despite a back-and-forth offensive performance from both teams, the Sky’s loss highlighted each rookie’s ability to transition their game into the WNBA.

Cardoso admitted it took a few minutes to settle into the game — “When I first went into that game I was stressing and I’ve never stressed for a game in my life,” the rookie laughed — but she found her footing in the second quarter. The center finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes as she played under restriction returning from injury.

Clark had a quiet game with 11 points but dished out six assists. Reese logged eight points and 13 rebounds in another well-rounded performance for the dominant rookie class.

“I think we all feel the pressure because everybody’s coming at us,” Reese said. “They didn’t think it was going to translate to the next level. I think all the rookies have done a great job translating it to the next level so I’m really proud of all of us.”

The history is thick between the trio of rookies. Reese and Clark earned a spotlight after trading taunts on the court in the 2023 NCAA championship. Cardoso and South Carolina dealt the deciding blow to Clark’s Iowa team in this year’s NCAA title game.

Their perceived rivalries often overshadow the collegiality of this rookie class, who rose to prominence side-by-side as teammates and opponents in AAU and youth national team competitions. Clark and Reese, for instance, began playing against each other in high school and have grown into two of the highest-demand players in women’s basketball.

“She’s been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school,” Clark said. “And that just hasn’t changed. She’s always had a knack for being able to rebound the ball and that’s just translated immediately to the WNBA. She’s so good at reading the ball off the glass, going and getting it and getting extra possessions for her team. Those are the little things that help your team win.”

Cardoso and Clark became closer over the last year when they were featured in an ESPN documentary highlighting their senior collegiate seasons.

While Clark had plenty of praise for Cardoso’s skills on the court — saying the center is “just scratching the surface of her potential” — she emphasized that her greatest respect is for Cardoso’s ability to overcome challenges throughout her career.

“She’s been through a lot in her life,” Clark said. “Her story is just super inspiring. It just really puts your life into perspective, it puts basketball into perspective. I’m really happy for her. This is what’s giving her family a better opportunity and I think that’s the coolest thing in the world. I’m a big fan of hers.”

Caitlin Clark had high praise for Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso ahead of today’s game.

“(Angel) has been so dominant at what she does ever since we played in high school.”

“Kamilla is just scratching the surface of her potential.” pic.twitter.com/ur1dBNA93f

— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) June 1, 2024

Although the reignition of collegiate rivalries stood as a central storyline for Saturday’s game, the most important feature of the loss for the Sky was Cardoso’s return to the court.

But Cardoso didn’t care about getting back on the court in time to rematch against Clark — she just wanted to play basketball again.

“It was never about this game,” Cardoso said. “Whenever the doctor called me, I was ready to come back. I was trying to come back early. They didn’t let me. So I’m just excited to be out there on the court.”

Angel Reese on the impact Kamilla Cardoso will make in her debut: “You can’t see 6-7.”

Praised Kamilla for keeping positive through her injury and on the court.

“She’s a beast but she always smiles.” pic.twitter.com/hWpcz8nLcq

— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) June 1, 2024

Despite the hype surrounding matchups between Reese, Cardoso and Clark, playing different positions meant they spent little time facing off on the court. Cardoso’s main challenge was guarding former South Carolina teammate Aliyah Boston, who tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks to anchor the Fever.

The only chippy moment of the game was between Clark and Chennedy Carter, who hip-checked the rookie in the third quarter before the ball had been inbounded. Carter declined to discuss the foul after the game and both players said there were no words exchanged before or after the play. Carter led the Sky’s offense with 19 points and six assists.

The loss highlighted the Sky’s greatest offensive needs: improved efficiency from the free-throw line and the 3-point arc. Marina Mabrey logged both of the team’s 3-pointers as the Sky went 2-for-12 and were outscored 36-6 by the Fever.

The Sky could not capitalize on a game-tying opportunity with a two-point deficit in the final seconds, as Mabrey missed the first of two free throws with six seconds remaining. The Sky finished 12-for-18 from the free throw line.

After their third clutch loss of the season, coach Teresa Weatherspoon said the missed opportunity was a crucial learning experience for the Sky.

“We’re just learning to win,” Weatherspoon said. “We’re understanding what it takes, offensively and defensively. Nothing more than that.”

And her return to the court will raise the stakes for one of the most highly anticipated rookie matchups of the season as Cardoso and teammate Angel Reese face off against the Fever’s Caitlin Clark at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (11 a.m., ESPN).

Cardoso, the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft, missed the first six games of her rookie season with a shoulder injury suffered in a collision during her preseason debut against the Minnesota Lynx.

Coach Teresa Weatherspoon said Cardoso was “pain free” as of Tuesday and spent the week reintegrating into contact during practice. Weatherspoon praised Cardoso for her work ethic while recovering from the early setback.

“I’m on Kamilla’s time,” Weatherspoon said. “We’re super excited to have her on the court. She’s excited to be back with a big smile on her face, and she puts a big smile on our face just because she’s out there and she’s pain free. That’s the most important thing. So we’re looking forward to having her back out there.”

During an Instagram Live session earlier in the month, Cardoso said the collision in the preseason game caused her shoulder to move into an unnatural position halfway down her arm, but she implored the coaching staff to allow her back into the game.

Cardoso said the injury didn’t hurt at the moment, but she woke the next morning in significant pain and struggled to move her arm at all.

“I was ready to play,” she said. “But the day after, I was like this — I can’t move. But it’s fine now.”

A 6-foot-7 center, Cardoso won’t spend much time toe to toe with Clark except for protecting the rim from the 6-foot guard’s slashing drives. But she will be matched up against a familiar face: fellow South Carolina alumna Aliyah Boston. Cardoso spent her first two years with the Gamecocks serving as Boston’s backup before stepping into the starting lineup as a senior.

She didn’t have any other choice. For more than four years, the pain was simply a constant. First from a grape-sized spinal tumor discovered in 2019. Then from the nerve damage that followed its removal in 2020.

There were the months relearning how to walk. The years finding the confidence to play again. The betrayal of a knee injury that sidelined DeShields for the entire 2023 WNBA season, just as she was starting to find her way back. The frustration of yet another nagging injury — her foot this time — hampering her first games back in a Sky jersey this season.

Even when she was trying to find joy on the court, the pain crept back in, persistent and monotonous. And then Saturday came.

For 16 minutes, 53 seconds in the Sky’s home opener against the Connecticut Sun, DeShields waited for her body to protest, for the first twinge of pain. It never came. She wasn’t timid — diving on the hardwood, scrambling for loose balls, absorbing crunching fouls under the rim. Still, there was nothing.

The true victory came at home, long after the adrenaline had worn off. DeShields took off her shoes. Nothing. She began her typical bedtime recovery routine. Nothing. And when she woke the next morning, she was greeted with the best feeling she could imagine.

Nothing.

“I didn’t realize it, but when you wake up every day and you go to bed every day and something hurts — it’s debilitating,” DeShields told the Tribune. “It was one of those small wins for me to have had all my hard work materialize in that moment. I just had a ton of gratitude in that moment. Now I have an opportunity to finally ascend past just being healthy.”

Since 2019, DeShields has been working toward a comfortable version of her body. Now she’s living in the next version. And the difference was noticeable, even on day one.

Although this is coach Teresa Weatherspoon’s first season working hands on with DeShields, she followed her story and career closely over the years. When DeShields returned to the court for the home opener after sitting out a May 23 game in New York, Weatherspoon saw the version of DeShields she hopes to cultivate: buoyant and energetic on defense, creative on offense, fearless on both ends of the court.

“That’s the most important thing for her — to feel pain-free, to go and play and be free,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s freedom to play, a free mind to play. When you get those kinds of athletes, you’re going to get something pretty tough.”

The home opener was a milestone for DeShields. But she also wanted to be clear: It was far from perfect.

“I couldn’t have played any worse,” she said of her three-point performance on 1-of-6 shooting. “I’m second-guessing every shot I take, seeing gaps and not attacking them. But it’s just the fact that I was out there. The timing and the rhythm of what you need to perform at a high level, that will come with repetition.”

Still, there have been flashes of the Diamond who won over Chicago when the Sky drafted her in 2018. She tallied a pair of steals against the Sun and two more Tuesday night against the Seattle Storm, giving her nine in four games. Her defensive presence creates clear discomfort for opposing guards, who struggle to bypass her unique combination of length and speed.

The strongest area for DeShields in the last two games was her facilitation, showcased by five assists in the home opener.

“I’ve played with some really unselfish teammates and that’s something that I always appreciated,” said DeShields, who is averaging 9.8 points and 2.8 assists and led the team in scoring with 16 points in a May 18 victory in Dallas. “It’s just being a willing passer, sacrificing your shot for a teammate, and that’s something that I want to be a part of the DNA of the team.”

While DeShields returned from the spinal surgery to play a full season for the Sky in 2021 — coming off the bench during their championship run — and for the Phoenix Mercury in 2022, she was forced to slow down while she recovered.

But in the process, the game slowed down for her as well. She describes herself as more cerebral than the last time she played in Chicago, less reliant on her athleticism, more thoughtful in her execution.

This adjustment was partially informed by losing faith in her body’s abilities during those years encumbered by injury. But Weatherspoon also sees this as a necessary maturation for any player.

“When you grow in the game, that’s how you see the game,” Weatherspoon said. “You feel more cerebral with the game. You understand plays, you understand actions, you understand movement. You see things happen before it happens. That’s just growth.”

Working under Weatherspoon has been a key for DeShields in building a vision of who she hopes to be on the court. Weatherspoon tries to eliminate second-guessing. When DeShields makes a mistake, her coach is already a step or two out of her box on the sideline, shouting encouragement to get DeShields right back into the game.

And Weatherspoon encourages DeShields to embrace the difficulty of her story, to share her experience with her younger teammates and provide a guidepost for the entire roster.

“I give her the voice,” Weatherspoon said. “I give her the voice on the floor and I give her the voice to be able to talk, and she’s sharing all that experience. And that’s just her growth. That has nothing to do with me. But what I do is allow it to be a part of the team.”

That doesn’t mean DeShields can’t take the heat. She knows there’s plenty to improve if she hopes to be a consistent contributor in the Sky’s starting lineup.

But criticism isn’t debilitating for DeShields anymore. She won’t let herself obsess over mistakes or be hard on herself after a bad game.

“Honestly, why should I be?” she said with a laugh.

And that shift in perspective is the greatest gift of this season for DeShields. Without pain, the rest is under her control. Every mistake can be fixed. Every game plan can be adjusted. Every loss can inform the next win.

“The next opportunity comes very quickly in basketball,” DeShields said. “You can dwell on it and then be unprepared for the next game. Or you can let it go, learn from it and get ready for tomorrow.

“We’re not going to be perfect basketball players. We’re just not. But the way my life has played out, I’m just grateful for every opportunity to be out here.”

LaVine isn’t at the top of any team’s list of summer targets, but according to reports from Yahoo Sports and the Philadelphia Inquirer, he could be a viable backup plan if the 76ers don’t land Paul George in free agency. Jimmy Butler and Brandon Ingram also were named as secondary options for the 76ers.

This isn’t the first time LaVine has been tied to another team or even the first time the 76ers have shown interest in the two-time All-Star shooting guard. But nearly six months after LaVine first broached the issue of being traded, it’s fair to ask if this the one that will stick.

After the Miami Heat bounced the Bulls out of the play-in tournament for a second straight year, executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas insisted he is committed to making changes this summer — but that didn’t mean a commitment to moving LaVine in this trade window.

Karnišovas’ tenure at the helm of the Bulls front office has been defined by hesitance, earning the ire of fans after opting for inaction at three consecutive trade deadlines. But in the case of trading LaVine this summer, a little trepidation might be warranted.

As teams wait for the NBA playoffs to end before starting to wheel and deal, there’s little evidence around the league that LaVine will be a top priority for any team. Most reports have suggested teams would desire an additional asset to be attached in order to move LaVine, whose contract — which totals $138 million over the next three years — has become an outsized burden compared with his perceived value.

So what does this mean for the Bulls? In short, they’re stuck in a serious rut.

LaVine’s value is at an all-time low after he played some of his worst basketball — averaging 19.5 points on 45.2% shooting while dropping to 34.9% behind the 3-point arc — in an injury-riddled season in which he appeared in only 25 games.

But for a player like LaVine, value can fluctuate rapidly. He’s only 29 with a proven ability to anchor a team’s scoring. So he easily could rebuild his stock — and thus boost his trade value for the Bulls — by coming out strong to start the 2023-24 season.

The safest option — and therefore the likeliest given the tendencies of the Bulls front office — is to keep LaVine through the summer. In a best-case scenario, he would stay injury-free and return to a more standard form, at which point the Bulls could hear more serious interest at the trade deadline.

However, the front office also prefers to make deals in the summer rather than during the in-season trade window, which means Karnišovas and Co. could hold out until next summer.

If that feels like a marathon for Bulls fans itching for a change, well, it makes sense. But it’s in the team’s best interest for the front office to get the highest value out of a LaVine trade rather than jump at the first offer.

Of course, all of this is complicated by the front office’s apparent willingness to re-sign DeMar DeRozan, who voiced his eagerness to stay in Chicago on the “Run It Back” podcast earlier this month. If the Bulls bring back both LaVine and DeRozan this fall, it would be hard to align Karnišovas’ fervent promises to enact change against the repetitive reality of the roster.

But even with a glimmer of interest in LaVine from other teams, the Bulls seem entrenched in that vision — at least at the start of the summer.

There was simply no way for it. The sold-out crowd of 9,025 at Wintrust Arena was filled with fans wearing her jersey. The announcer hollered her new nickname — “Chi Town Barbie” — after every big play. And in her first outing in front of a home crowd at Wintrust Arena, Reese delivered on the hype despite rookie mistakes that contributed to an 86-82 loss to the Connecticut Sun.

With newfound excitement flooding the Sky, the courtside seats for Saturday’s game were packed with local celebrities like co-owner Dwyane Wade, his wife Gabrielle Union, Chance the Rapper and Bulls guard Dalen Terry. But for Reese, the most exciting two people in the building were on the opposite team: Brionna Jones and Alyssa Thomas.

A Baltimore native, Reese had watched both forwards throughout their tenures at Maryland, where she also played her first two seasons of NCAA basketball. Ahead of the game, Reese expressed her excitement to face two players she had watched so closely during her formative years.

Jones and Thomas quickly put the rookie through the wringer, snagging offensive rebounds out of her hands and springing brutal double-team traps to force turnovers. But Reese gave as good as she got, scoring 10 points in the first half and frustrating Thomas by forcing a series of jump balls.

That frustration finally boiled over when Thomas earned an ejection in the third quarter when she grabbed Reese across the throat while fighting for a rebound, tossing the rookie to the ground in a hard foul that was quickly upgraded to a flagrant 2.

Alyssa Thomas was ejected after a hard foul on Angel Reese. pic.twitter.com/CxJNDkfePd

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 26, 2024

But Reese refused to label the play as purposeful, emphasizing there were “no hard feelings” and shrugging off the idea that Thomas came at her harder due to her stature or her rookie status.

“I’m a basketball player,” Reese said. “They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. I want them to come at me every day. I want them to come at everybody. I mean, they’re not supposed to be nice to me or lay down because I’m Angel Reese or because I’m a rookie. Like, thank you (Thomas) for sending a message to me because I got back up and I kept going and kept pushing.”

Angel Reese on that hard foul by Alyssa Thomas which led to an ejection: “They don’t give a damn if I’m a rookie. … They’re not supposed to be nice to me. … Thank you AT for sending a message to me because I got back up and I kept going.” pic.twitter.com/tZUsMjSm8g

— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) May 26, 2024

Fans gravitated toward Reese from the first moment she emerged from the Sky tunnel an hour before tipoff. A group of children with the Boys & Girls Club crowded the seats on the baseline during pregame warmups, gasping as they quickly realized their proximity only feet away from Reese and the rest of her teammates. The gaggle whipped out their phones, shouted out varied appeals — from “Angel, I love you!” to “Show me some rebounds!” — and cheered loudly every time Reese even glanced in their direction.

Fans also flocked to fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso, who has missed the first four games of the season with a shoulder injury. Despite not warming up and attending the game in street clothes, Cardoso signed jerseys and took pictures with fans ahead of the game and earned one of the loudest cheers during player introductions.

Photos: Chicago Sky lose home opener to Connecticut Sun 86-82

Reese paused before returning to the locker room after warmups to sign the jersey of 6-year-old fan Lillian Freiburg. When Freiburg offered up the rookie card of assistant coach Ty Young, Reese tracked down Young to secure an additional autograph.

It was a special moment for Freiburg, who admired Reese for her performance with LSU: “She’s really, really strong.” But for her mother Michele, watching Reese and the Sky take center stage on Saturday night went even deeper.

The Freiburgs have been season ticket holders for years. And they’ve waited for the rest of the city to catch on to what they love about the WNBA. With Reese at the helm, those new fans have finally arrived.

“It’s just the excitement you see in the fan base, the number of people that are showing up,” Freiburg said. “Players from long, long ago have paved the path for these young players to do what they are doing. It’s social media and their personalities that are really bringing other people in and they didn’t have that years ago. We’re thrilled that it’s getting to where it is.”

Reese delivered on the excitement surrounding her arrival in Chicago in the first half, scoring 10 points as the Sky took an early lead. But the second half was a learning experience for the rookie as the Sky struggled to stay ahead of the Sun, who dominated the offensive boards to keep plays alive for second (and third) chances. Reese took only three shots in the second half — and missed all of them.

The most painful lesson came in the final 30 seconds as the Sky attempted to execute a play to set up Marina Mabrey for a game-tying 3-pointer. Reese was tasked with the final screen to spring Mabrey into the corner, but didn’t set her feet before she collided with Dijonai Carrington. The resulting turnover sealed the loss for the Sky.

Head coach Teresa Weatherspoon said she wasn’t worried about Reese regardless of Saturday’s outcome, instead viewing the loss as a reflection of the rookie’s toughness and determination to improve.

“That’s who she is,” Weatherspoon said. “She loves this game and she takes on every challenge I put before her. Everyone calls her a rookie and yeah we know that she’s a rookie but she’s a player. She wants to compete. She knows she wants to compete against the best. And when you’re competing against those who have been here, who know how good they are, all that’s going to do is help you to grow.”