Julia Poe talks new-look Chicago Sky, Bulls' executive search
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody. I'm not a fan of any team. I'm just a fan of being right.
Middays 10 to 2 on 104.3 The Score.
With the fifth pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Chicago Sky select Gabriella Hawkes, UCLA. Hey, everyone. I am super excited to be a part of the Chicago Sky. This is a dream come true. Can't wait to be there in Chicago and meet all you guys.
Very cool. There is a new number one in Chicago with the Chicago Skies. You just heard Gabrielle Hawke has the number five?
What are the highlights of the Chicago Sky's draft pick Gabriela Jaquez?
Yeah, you got it. Out of UCLA. I know Marshall Harris, so you are very pleased with the pick. And let's find out from somebody who covers the Chicago Sky. She also covers the Chicago Bulls. So we have a dual-purpose guest here. It is our friend Julia Poe. Again, Bulls and Sky beat writer for the Chicago Tribune. She is on X all the time. At, by, Julia Poe. P-O-E. Julia, how are you? Thanks for being on Rahimi Harrison Grody.
Hey, guys. Thanks for having me on.
So what do you think? What do you think about this guy's first-round pick?
Yeah, definitely. I think this was maybe one of the first kind of surprises of this draft. Hawkins was always kind of predicted to go a little bit lower out of this UCLA group that ended up leading potentially six players last night, which is a very impressive feat as a USC grad. Even I can acknowledge that one. Painful as it is. But, you know, when you look at what the Sky are trying to construct with this roster, kind of the timeline, the scope that they have, Jaquez makes a lot of sense. She fits the bill of kind of this front office's type for a player in terms of length, in terms of two-way play, her shooting. And also something that you're going to hear about a lot, her characters. This is a leader.
This is a winning player. This is a player that meant a lot to that UCLA program. And so I think with the culture that this team is trying to build, all of that kind of makes sense in terms of the complete package.
Okay, so you probably feel the same way I feel, Julia, about this being the biggest surprise, or at least the earliest surprise in the draft in the W. Because, as you mentioned, six players taken from UCLA, five in the first round, and she was the second one off the board. I thought Kiki Rice might have a higher WNBA ceiling than Jaquez because of... What are the top five pick? You're looking for someone who can be a star. And I don't know that I viewed her as that, even though she was coming off that big performance in the national championship game.
Yeah, definitely. I think that, you know, you can look at it a couple of ways. Rice would have made sense, I think, from the perspective that the Sky don't have a future at the point guard position right now. They have two older veterans, Skylar Diggins and Courtney Vanderslee filling that position. So Rice would have made a lot of sense if you're looking at, OK, let's kind of make sure that we have a young developing player behind those vets. But that's not what the Sky were looking for. They were looking for what they consider to be a winning player. And Jaquez, what she can fill on the wings, makes sense for a team that is trying to make the playoffs this season, that wants to make a playoff run this season, and kind of has very lofty goals for what they can do in year one of this rebuild.
So I think that you're right if you were surprised by it. I was surprised by it. I wasn't necessarily even sure about the pick at first when it came through. But I think that when you kind of look at the logic of how this guy had been doing this build, it does at least make sense for what they're thinking. Now it's up to Hawkins to show that her defense can make it over into the WNBA and also that her shooting can just be as consistent as possible. Those are going to be kind of the big factors for her to be able to make an impact right away.
Yeah, she's considered a three-level scorer, shot 39% from three-point range in her senior season, and recently led UCLA to his first NCAA championship with 21 points, 10 rebounds in the title game.
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