The Las Vegas Aces are making some cost-cutting decisions near the midway point of the WNBA season.
The Aces confirmed Tuesday they waived guard Chennedy Carter and signed Indiana Fever developmental guard Justine Pissott as a replacement. It’s largely a financial decision.
Why the Aces suddenly waived Chennedy Carter
WNBA teams had until Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET to waive players on non-guaranteed contracts before they became fully guaranteed. The Aces signed Carter to such a deal (one year, $277.5K) before the start of the season. It’s unclear how much of it they paid her, as Spotrac doesn’t yet include the figures in its database.
Whatever was left on her contract, the salary-cap-strapped Aces felt it was too much. Spotrac estimates they have $285K in cap space, well below the league average ($557.4K).
Roster Update: The Las Vegas Aces have waived Chennedy Carter. In addition, the Aces have signed Justine Pissott. pic.twitter.com/d7TpnaL1ng
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) July 7, 2026
Vegas waiving her is another huge loss for Carter, who has bounced around the league throughout her career. Since the Atlanta Dream took her with pick No. 4 in the 2020 WNBA Draft, she has played for three other teams, including the Aces.
Carter’s inability to latch onto a team could be tied to her reputation. She’s well-known for shoving Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game in 2024.
Carter complaining about her role in Vegas certainly didn’t help her standing. In her first seven games this season, the guard averaged 19.1 points per game. Even though she was scoring plenty, Carter called out the team for keeping her on “a leash” on social media following a 95-87 loss to the Dallas Wings on May 28. Former Los Angeles Sparks great Candace Parker noted she may later regret that.
“Chennedy also alluded to still being on a leash in Vegas, which probably didn’t sit well with [head coach] Becky Hammon, if I know her very well,” two-time MVP Parker told Fever center Aliyah Boston on her podcast.
Shortly after, Carter’s playing time dwindled, and she failed to regain it while battling a left leg injury and unspecified illness. The Aces may have felt she would only continue to backslide after her final game with the team. She played 15 minutes and scored no points in an 84-68 loss to the Fever on Sunday.
Another squad may take a chance on Carter, who averaged 12.2 PPG in 13 games for the Aces. Until then, the guard will wish she had taken better advantage of her time in Vegas (15-6). She would’ve been in for a huge payday if she had.
Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.
