Only One Offseason Steal Rivals Aces’ Chennedy Carter Addition
Between A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young, Jewell Loyd, and Chelsea Gray, the Aces already have a ton of offensive firepower and All-Star-nod-worthy scoring. Adding Chennedy Carter, one of the quickest guards and best isolation scorers in the W, to that core group already seemed unfair when the Aces first signed her. Three games later, that prediction has already come true.
Carter put together two 20-point games off the bench, helping propel the Aces to two dominant wins after their disappointing showing against the Phoenix Mercury in the season opener. She’s doing it efficiently, too, shooting 73% from the field over the first three games. Considering that the Los Angeles Sparks and Connecticut Sun are not great defensive teams, that number may drop a bit soon.
Still, Carter is the perfect spark off the bench for a team with an established core that opponents know all too well. After all these years, opponents know what to expect from Wilson, Young, and Gray—they may not be able to stop them, but they know what they can do. Carter is a true x-factor. She also makes everyone else’s job easier. Having another 20-point scorer coming off the bench allows Becky Hammon to rest her stars a bit more, and it eases the scoring burden Wilson and Young, in particular, have to carry.
This addition is an absolute steal—perhaps the biggest steal of the offseason—but the Portland Fire’s selection of Carla Leite in the expansion draft rivals the Aces’ free agency pickup.
Carla Leite has been great for the Portland Fire
It’s difficult to believe that a young player with Leite’s talent and upside was available in the expansion draft two years in a row. But the Valkyries simply had too many players they needed to protect after a historic first season. Their loss is the Fire’s gain—and Leite’s. In Portland, she has the chance to play a much bigger role. She’s a full-time starter now rather than coming off the bench behind Veronica Burton.
Leite is averaging 19.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists for her short Fire tenure. At only 22 years old, she is the Fire’s second-leading scorer and rebounder and best playmaker. The fact that she will only get better from here on out is a scary thought for the rest of the league—especially the Dallas Wings and Valkyries after both let her go in an expansion draft.
Leite may not have the same championship impact Carter could have for the Aces, but she is a building block for a new franchise and a growing star. Landing her in the expansion draft is an absolute steal.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.