👋 Layup Lines: The Chennedy conundrum

In partnership with

Happy Wednesday and welcome back to Layup Lines, your quick recap of what’s going on in the WNBA.

• Want to go deeper on what happened over the long holiday weekend? Click on some power rankings from USA TODAY and ESPN.

This 628 word newsletter should take a little over 2 minutes to read.

😞 Drama in Vegas

• The Aces unceremoniously waived Chennedy Carter, their fourth-leading scorer, on Tuesday, becoming the fourth WNBA team to cut one of the most talented offensive players in the league.

  • It really says something about what Carter is like in the locker room that even Las Vegas was ready to move on. Remember, this is a player who has averaged 15+ points per game for multiple organizations. She has led the Chinese league in points, rebounds and assists at the same time. She’s shooting 60% from the field (!) this year and is crucial to Vegas’ second team off the bench.

    • And yet she’s still hard enough to manage that the Aces are moving on. Both a huge bummer and a reality of life. People only have so much patience for bullshit.

• It’s hard to criticize an organization that has won 3 of the last 4 WNBA championships, but the top-heavy Aces have missed on so many players outside of their core 3 that if any of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray or Jackie Young get hurt for an extended period, it will be almost impossible for them to repeat in 2026.

  • Las Vegas’ main personnel win recently has been trading a 2027 first round pick last year for NaLyssa Smith (11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds per game). Other than that, we’re watching Jewell Loyd average a careeer-low 8 points and Kierstan Bell become maybe the worst player in the league who plays more than 10 minutes per game.

    • Will it take an injury for the Aces to again trade a first for reinforcements, or will they be more proactive?

This newsletter is brought to you by 1440 Media.

Every headline satisfies an opinion. Except ours.

Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.

Read the newsletter trusted by 4.5 million fact-seekers.

📺 What’s on this week

• Transparency first: This isn’t a great week of games, though I am curious to see if Caitlin Clark returns tonight for Indiana vs. Los Angeles (10pm ET, USA / CNBC) or if she waits until tomorrow to take on Thomas and the Mercury (10pm, Prime Video).

  • Looking forward to everyone continuing to be rational about Clark and Thomas.

• Things pick up on Saturday, as we’ve got a full slate of nationally-televised games. Lock in for New York @ Minnesota (1pm, ABC), Portland @ Atlanta (4pm, CBS) and Phoenix @ Las Vegas (6pm, Peacock / NBCSN).

  • If you’d like to bet on hoops this week, I like* Golden State / Toronto under 166.5 points scored, Minnesota -6.5 vs. Connecticut and Seattle / Atlanta over 168.5.

    • *I am 14-9 on bets I like this year.

🎟️ Another A+ promotion

• Gamble and live in Minnesota? The Lynx’s “Cash in on the Ring” is for you.

  • Spend $250 on a ticket package for every remaining home game before Saturday’s tilt with the Liberty (12 games total) and get your money back if the Lynx win the 2026 title.

    • This is basically a future that even if it loses, still gets you in the door for Olivia Miles games for about $20 a pop. Genius!

🤩 All-Stars to go

• Full rosters for the July 25 All-Star game have been announced and look pretty good to me, though I expect a player from Portland (Carla Leite, Bridget Carleton) or Phoenix (Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper) to be named as an injury replacement for Kelsey Plum.

Layup Lines is written 100% by a human being. I very much appreciate you reading!

— Everett Cook, Founder & Editor