Sun Roster Cut Surprises WNBA Fans on Eve of 2025 Season

The Connecticut Sun made a surprising roster decision on Thursday.

Angel Reese (5 Chicago Sky) and Diamond DeShields (0 Chicago Sky) box out Alyssa Thomas (25 Connecticut Sun) on May 25, 2024. | IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Thursday, May 15, marks the day when all 13 WNBA teams must finalize their rosters before the regular season games begin on May 16.

While many teams had already trimmed their roster down to 12 players, several teams still had moves to make (or at least moves to announce) on May 15. One of these teams was the Connecticut Sun, which experienced an absurd amount of roster turnover from last year to this year.

Connecticut lost all five of its starters plus its head coach, Stephanie White. Therefore, it was always going to be interesting to see how this team would construct its 2025 squad.

And the Sun made a surprising move on Thursday when they announced that they had cut veteran guard Diamond DeShields.

Roster update: Diamond DeShields has been waived by the Connecticut Sun. pic.twitter.com/fjsGrv2REU

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) May 15, 2025

DeShields has been in the WNBA since 2018 and spent the 2024 season with the Chicago Sky, where she averaged 4.5 points and 13.8 minutes per game.

Fans and reporters on social media are noting their surprise about DeShields getting waived.

"Wow

"Major news here. The Sun have waived Diamond DeShields. DeShields didn’t get to participate too much in camp due to an ankle injury and didn’t have a specific timeline for return," CT Insider's Maggie Vanoni wrote.

Wow

Major news here. The Sun have waived Diamond DeShields. DeShields didn’t get to participate too much in camp due to an ankle injury and didn’t have a specific timeline for return https://t.co/VTZWuxoU3U

— Maggie Vanoni (@maggie_vanoni) May 15, 2025

Another fan added, "This makes no sense."

This makes no sense.

— William Kiesel (@WmKiesel) May 15, 2025

"Wasn’t expecting this one," another wrote.

Wasn’t expecting this one https://t.co/DROXnEogOf

— Kayyy 🌻 (@_KaySoClassy) May 15, 2025

It will be interesting to see whether another WNBA team tries to pick DeShields up at some point. While DeShields has dealt with several injuries over the past few seasons, she could still have something to offer a WNBA squad.