Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Julia Poe talks new-look Chicago Sky, Bulls' executive search
14 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: 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?
Chapter 2: 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.
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Chapter 3: Why was Gabriela Jaquez considered a surprise pick in the WNBA Draft?
I think that one thing that I like to see in a roster is that when I look at this roster, I can tell just on paper. how they're going to play.
You can look at the balance, you can look at the construction, and you can say, okay, they're going to stretch the floor, they're going to play fast, they're going to pull the floor out and let Camila Cardoso kind of cook a lot in the low block on her own, they're going to crash the boards, they're going to take a lot of threes.
And I can just tell that even without kind of talking to Tyler Marsh and Jeff Tagliocca, who confirmed that last night after the draft, you can just tell how they're going to play from looking at the roster construction. And that is something that last year's roster and the year before that just really did not have.
Talking to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune, Bulls and Sky beat writer for the Tribune right here on Rahimi Harrison-Grody on Chicago Sports Radio 670. The score, Julia, obviously, as I just mentioned, covers the Chicago Bulls on the daily as well. Where are we today as far as the Bulls having and acquiring and paying for and getting new leadership atop the organization?
Yeah, I mean, step one happens this week, which is the much talked about sit down conversation between Billy Donovan and ownership. And I wrote about that in the Tribune this week. It's going to decide so much about the future trajectory of this team, whether or not their head coach from the last six years decides to recommit to a rebuild with new ownership.
And there's a lot of different ways to look at it. I know a lot of folks have acknowledged that it is not always the most traditional way to go about things to keep your coach and bring in new executive leadership. But You know, Bulls ownership is very high on Donovan. He's well respected, obviously, throughout the program, throughout the franchise.
And so I think right now that's the big thing for this week. They need to sit down. They need to have that conversation. And then Billy has a big old decision to make.
What do you think is most likely out of these options, Julia? Billy taking a year off and walking away from the Bulls, Billy staying as the head coach, or Billy going upstairs, whether it's as the new leadership or in some other advisory role?
What do you think the most obvious of those options is after having followed him the back half of the season and listening to his post-game press conference after the final game?
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