Aces waive Chennedy Carter ahead of midseason cut-down
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Las Vegas Aces waived guard Chennedy Carter on Tuesday ahead of the WNBA's mid-season cut-down date with no public explanation; the team doesn't play again until Thursday vs. Portland, so coach Becky Hammon won't address it for days.
- Aces signed rookie Justine Pissott to a rest-of-season contract in a corresponding move; Pissott, the No. 25 pick in the 2026 draft, had been on a developmental deal with Indiana.
- Chennedy Carter, the No. 4 pick by Atlanta in 2020, has played only 97 games across four franchises in her WNBA career due to injuries and repeated conduct issues in the locker room and on the court.
- Carter averaged 17.5 points on 65.1% shooting in May and led the WNBA in bench scoring, but missed eight of the next 11 games with a leg injury and an undisclosed illness, reaching double figures just once in June and July.
- The Aces are 10-3 with a 112.5 offensive rating (fourth in league) since June 1, meaning Carter's decline in production did not coincide with any team-wide scoring slump.
- Carter's prior stops included a 2021 Atlanta suspension after she reportedly tried to fight teammate Courtney Williams, a benching by Los Angeles for 'poor conduct,' and a 2024 Chicago season where she led the league with four flagrant fouls including one on Caitlin Clark before the Sky declined to re-sign her.
Why it matters: Carter's latest exit underscores a pattern that has followed her to four franchises: elite scoring bursts undermined by injuries and conduct concerns that teams ultimately decide outweigh the talent. With a league-minimum, unprotected contract the Aces had little financial exposure, and their 10-3 record since June 1 shows they absorbed her loss without a scoring drop — meaning whatever the off-court issues were, the Aces judged the risk not worth a bench-scoring lead.
