The Las Vegas Aces made a shocking decision to waive Chennedy Carter on Tuesday, amid the midseason roster-trimming deadline. However, the Aces' head coach Becky Hammon’s refusal to explain the move only deepened the mystery.

Carter was one of the Aces' best players this season. She was top five among the scorers despite averaging just 17 minutes a game. While it was already intriguing why the team would waive a player of her talent, Hammon's refusal to explain the move only deepened the mystery.

"We aren’t going to comment on players that aren’t here anymore," she told reporters, per Jade Lawson of 7News DC.

Hammon's silence signals potential locker room friction. But nothing beyond the financial side of the decision has been reported yet.

Carter signed a non-guaranteed veteran-minimum contract ($277,500) after a training camp deal in April.

The deadline to waive non-guaranteed contracts was Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET. Now that the Aces have waived her before the contract became guaranteed, they are not obliged to pay her the rest of the money.

The Aces were Carter's fourth team in five years. She was drafted by the Atlanta Dream in 2020 and joined the LA Sparks after two seasons. She didn't play in 2023 and joined Chicago in 2024. Before joining the Aces, she played in China in 2025.

However, in light of the Aces' abrupt decision, Carter's recent comment about her role has resurfaced.

Chennedy Carter's Threads Rant Preceded Reduced Minutes

Carter was one of the frontrunners in the "Sixth Player of the Year" award this season. She started the season on a very high note, averaging 19.1 points in the first seven games. However, things took a big hit after the Dallas Wings game.

Carter was assigned to guard Wings guard Azzi Fudd in the Aces-Wings contest on May 30. After the loss, Carter ranted when fans called her out for losing the matchup to Fudd. The WNBA veteran defended her, saying that she was on "leash."

"Not to mention, I made her ankle touch the ground," Carter wrote on Threads, per Bleacher Report. "But y'all can hollar at me when my leash is off, too. It's completely unfair, even though statistically, it's not even close."

Since that game, Carter's playing minutes have been significantly reduced. She had never played in single-digit minutes up to that point, but after that, she played less than 10 minutes in three of her last seven games.

Carter played her last game against the Indiana Fever on Monday. She failed to score a point in 15 minutes.

As she looks for her next team, Carter's WNBA career has taken the same pattern it took after the 2024 season, when she had to play overseas. She is among the top talented players in the league, but Carter doesn't have the best locker room image.

Which team do you think should sign Chennedy Carter? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Koushik Biswas