The Indiana Fever selected Justine Pissott with the 25th overall pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and the early impression, especially from her preseason performances, was quite encouraging. In fact, many Fever fans viewed Pissott as a theoretically perfect teammate for Caitlin Clark. However, since the regular season began, she has not featured in a single WNBA game. Instead, the Fever have kept her on a Player Development contract, and left her glued to the bench.

As it stands, the Las Vegas Aces made a decisive move to pry Pissott away from the Fever by presenting her with a standard contract offer sheet. By implication, the Indiana Fever had 24 hours to respond, beyond which they were no longer able to keep her. For WNBA analyst Ben Daniel, the situation reflects poorly on the Fever’s approach to roster management.

“The Indiana Fever are always being reactive,” he said while reacting to the Aces’ offer on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast. “The Indiana Fever, they’re just as reactive as the WNBA. They’re just as reactive as Cathy Engelbert. They’re not proactive at all.”

For Daniel, a prospect with Pissott’s potential is someone the Indiana Fever should have already signed to a standard contract. Instead, he believes the franchise has waited until the final moment while continuing to hold on to players he considers dead weight.

To keep Pissott, all the Indiana Fever had to do is elevate her to their active 12-player roster within 24 hours of the Aces’ offer, by matching the offer sheet extended by Las Vegas. But as it stands, they currently have no available space on their active roster and would have had to waive a player if they want to keep her.

Like Daniel said, it does appear that the Aces were more proactive in handling situations like this. They waived Chennedy Carter to create the roster space needed for Pissott. Or perhaps they simply saw more in her than the Fever, or more specifically, head coach Stephanie White ever saw.

Stephanie White Opts for VanSlooten and Dantas Instead of Caitlin Clark’s Potential Perfect Teammate

If the Indiana Fever were going to keep Justine Pissott, they would have had to part ways with either rookie Grace VanSlooten or veteran center Damiris Dantas. From the Fever’s and head coach Stephanie White’s unwillingness to waive either player, the choice was clear. VanSlooten and Dantas were viewed as more valuable to the team’s plans than Pissott.

According to Fever reporter Chloe Peterson, the Fever had no plans to counter the Las Vegas Aces’ offer. And based on what White had previously said about VanSlooten and Dantas, that decision was hardly surprising.

“They’re great culture players, great culture teammates. They’re going to be ready when their number is called,” White said on why they decided to keep VanSlooten and Dantas. “Grace is a young player who I think can really develop into a solid four in this league, DD is a veteran who understands how to stay ready so she doesn’t have to get ready, who we can play in certain lineups and certain matchups, who are going to give us great minutes in practice as well, and who are going to help continue to elevate and build and pour into our culture.”

At the end of the day, Fever fans who were clamoring to keep Pissott instead of VanSlooten or Dantas will simply have to accept and trust White’s and the front office’s judgment. Perhaps, if it had been possible to keep all three players, Pissott, Dantas, and VanSlooten, they would have done exactly that.