January 26, 2021
Sources: Atlanta Dream in talks to sign Cheyenne Parker
Fresh off a career year, Parker appears to be on the move after six years in Chicago
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Multiple league sources tell The Next that the Atlanta Dream are in talks to sign free agent forward Cheyenne Parker.
Parker, 28, has spent the entirety of her six-year WNBA career with the Chicago Sky, who drafted her with the fifth overall pick in 2015. After spending her first five seasons largely coming off the bench for the Sky, Parker started 14 of the Sky’s 21 games in 2020 and set new career highs in nearly every statistical category, including shooting percentage, three-point percentage, free-throw percentage, and rebounds, assists, steals and points per game.
Dream coach Nicki Collen has said on multiple occasions since the end of last season that Atlanta needs to acquire a stretch ‘4’, and the 6’4 Parker seems poised to be able to fill that role.
Though she hasn’t shot a ton of threes in her career, Parker went from a career high of six made three-pointers in 34 games in 2018 to 15 made threes in just 20 games in 2020 while shooting a career-best 46.9% from beyond the arc. Increasing her attempts from the perimeter from zero in 2015, to 18 in 2019, to 32 in 2020 appears to reflect a conscious decision to add three-point shooting to her game.
Signing Parker reflects Atlanta betting on her continuing her upward trajectory after a career year in 2020, but given that Parker’s numbers have increased just about every year she’s been in the WNBA, it seems like a bet worth making.
Howard Megdal contributed reporting to this story.
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