Chennedy Carter was averaging 12.2 points per game after 13 games coming off the bench when the Aces waived her. Although Carter didn’t score in her last game for the Aces against the Indiana Fever, she was still shooting 60.0% from the field. Naturally, reporters asked coach Becky Hammon for a reason behind her decision ahead of the Aces’ game with Portland Fire.

“We aren’t going to comment on players that aren’t here anymore,” Hammon said during the pregame interview, as per 7News DC reporter Jade Lawson.

Upon further probing, however, Hammon did open up, but it was about the kind of player and culture she believes a championship-winning franchise must have.

“It’s a team sport. Self-sacrifice. People that have to sacrifice for each other,” Becky Hammon said, as shared on the ESPN 1100/100.9 FM page on X. “Play an unselfish brand of basketball, you have to have buy-in. At the end of the day, you need a great try-hard factor.”

“To win championships, you have to have this hunger and desire to win every possession. You don’t get to take possessions off. All the normal things that come with being on a team, accountability, discipline, all those things are important.”

It is not entirely clear which of those qualities Becky Hammon felt Carter was lacking, but she did have a sharp decline in her production. In her final five games, Carter was averaging just 3.8 points per game. Her first seven appearances, by contrast, saw her average 19.1 points per game.

It is also worth acknowledging that Carter’s later games were complicated by limited minutes, a leg injury, and an undisclosed illness.

Becky Hammon and the Las Vegas Aces moved quickly to fill the void left by Chennedy Carter. They turned to Justine Pissott as her replacement. And Hammon wasted no time signalling her desire to get the newcomer into the team as rapidly as possible.

“We’ll be adding pieces here soon with Justine and get her acclimated as quickly as possible as well,” she said in the Portland Fire pregame interview.

Pissott is a rookie who was selected 25th overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2026 WNBA Draft. And with the Fever, she spent time as a development player before the Aces swooped in to add her to their roster. 

She arrives without the proven production Carter had displayed in her best stretches with Las Vegas. In fact, she has no track record at this level yet to suggest she can immediately replicate that output. But the potential is clearly there. And as Becky Hammon’s comments make clear, she wants to see that potential begin to translate into real contributions as quickly as possible.

Regardless, the decision has been made. And since her departure, neither the Las Vegas Aces nor Hammon have addressed the situation in any meaningful detail. Carter herself has also not publicly commented on the waiver.