Stephanie White Explains Reason Behind Indiana Fever's Roster Decision

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Stephanie White Explains Reason Behind Indiana Fever's Roster Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Angelo Guinhawa | Last updated Jul 7, 2026 7:58 PM ET

The Indiana Fever have officially lost rookie Justine Pissott, the 25th overall pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft.

Pissott was on a player development contract with the Fever, but she never played a game for the team. Now, she's joining the Las Vegas Aces, who offered her a standard rest-of-season contract.

The Aces tendered Pissott an offer sheet on Monday, and the Fever had 24 hours to match it by putting the 22-year-old forward on the standard roster. However, Indiana did not do so and let Pissott walk away.

When explaining the decision not to match Pissott's offer from the Aces, Fever head coach Stephanie White admitted that they felt they couldn't open up a roster spot for her. After all, signing Pissott to a standard WNBA contract would mean Indiana would have to waive one player — likely rookie Grace VanSlooten or veteran center Damiris Dantas, who have played the fewest minutes on the roster, per Chloe Peterson of the Indianapolis Star.

Former Indiana Fever forward Justine Pissott (13) poses for a photo.Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"First and foremost, 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."

For what it's worth, White expressed her belief that the player development contract had served its purpose in Pissott's case.

"I think that's the great thing about these development spots, and the challenging thing about these development spots, is that you have opportunities to develop players, then when they get an ability to get a standard contract ... this is what it's meant for," White stated. "To continue to advance opportunity for the players, and to continue to keep them ready for when their opportunity presents itself."

As the Fever move on, it will be interesting to see what they will do with their open player development spot.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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