The Las Vegas Aces reshaped the back end of their roster this week, waiving guard Chennedy Carter and signing rookie guard and forward Justine Pissott, who they pried away from the Indiana Fever through an offer sheet. The move, reported on the AP Sports Wire and confirmed by the Washington Post and the team, swaps a proven bench scorer for a 6-foot-4 rookie shooter and gives the defending champions a different kind of weapon for the rest of the 2026 WNBA season.
How the Move Happened
The mechanics are worth understanding because they drove the timing. Pissott had been on a player development contract with Indiana, a status that made her eligible to sign with another WNBA team if she received a standard roster offer. Las Vegas extended an offer sheet on Tuesday morning, and by signing it, Pissott started a 24-hour clock during which the Fever could match by putting her on a standard roster contract or let her walk. Indiana chose not to match, clearing Pissott to join the Aces on a deal for the remainder of the season. To open a roster spot, Las Vegas waived Carter in the corresponding move.
In other words, the Aces did not simply pick up a free agent. They identified a developmental player they valued, structured an offer that forced a decision, and won her when Indiana declined to match.
Why Las Vegas Wanted Pissott
Pissott brings a specific skill the champions can use: shooting. A 6-foot-4 guard and forward, she stretches the floor at a size that is hard to contest. In her senior season at Vanderbilt she averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists, all career highs, while shooting 42.2 percent from three on 6.6 attempts per game, according to reporting on her college career. A player that tall who can pull up and space the floor at that clip is a useful piece for a contender that wants to surround its stars with shooting.
Pissott came into the league as a second-round pick, taken 25th overall by Indiana in the 2026 WNBA Draft. Before this week she had signed a player development contract and appeared in one preseason game, a limited runway that made her available in the first place. Landing on a championship roster is a significant step for a rookie, and it is a path that recent Vanderbilt players have rarely taken so quickly.
Who Justine Pissott Is
Pissott's story runs from New Jersey to the SEC to Las Vegas. She starred at Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey, then began her college career at Tennessee before transferring to Vanderbilt, where she put up the best numbers of her college years as a senior. At 6-foot-4 with a perimeter skill set, she profiles as a modern combo forward, the kind of long shooter that fits the way the WNBA is trending.
For a rookie, joining the Aces means learning inside a winning culture rather than a rebuild. The role may start small, but the environment is one where a young shooter can develop good habits and earn minutes by doing the specific thing she does well. That is a valuable place for a second-round pick to land.
What Chennedy Carter's Exit Means
The other half of the move is the departure of Chennedy Carter, a 27-year-old guard who had given the Aces scoring punch off the bench. This season she averaged 12.2 points and 1.8 rebounds, and she showed her ceiling with an 18-point night in 25 minutes against the New York Liberty on June 30. Carter can create her own shot and change the tempo of a game, and on many rosters that is enough to hold a spot.
Her recent form worked against her. In the two games before the move she managed just four points on limited shooting across a combined 26 minutes, and a bench scorer who cools off can become the odd player out when a roster upgrade appears. Being waived by the champions puts Carter's immediate WNBA future in question, though a scorer with her track record will draw interest elsewhere. This is the hard math of a title roster, where production is measured against a very high bar and the margin for a slump is thin.
The Champions Keep Retooling
The larger takeaway is the mindset behind the move. Las Vegas is not standing still on the strength of its trophies. By trading a known bench scorer for a rookie shooter with size, the Aces are shaping their roster around fit and floor spacing rather than reputation, and they are willing to make a mid-season change to do it. That is how organizations stay at the top rather than drifting after a championship.
The offer-sheet route also sends a message across the league. The Aces were prepared to use every roster mechanism available to add the specific player they wanted, even one buried on another team's development contract. It is aggressive front-office work, and it reflects a team that treats the margins of its roster as seriously as the top of it.
What to Watch Next
For Pissott, the question is how quickly she can carve out minutes on a deep, veteran team. If her college shooting translates, she gives Las Vegas a spacing option that opponents have to respect, and rookies who can shoot at her size tend to find the floor. For Carter, the question is where she lands and whether a change of scenery brings back the scoring spark she showed earlier this season.
For the Aces, this is one more example of a champion refusing to coast. They found a player who fits how they want to play, moved decisively to get her, and adjusted the roster to make it work. In a league where the gap between the contenders is small, that kind of attention to the margins is often what keeps a team on top.
Sources: AP Sports Wire (inbox), The Washington Post, TSN, Las Vegas Review-Journal, https://www.google.com/url?q=
