Aces shake up roster, acquire player from Wings

The Aces shook up their roster Monday in an attempt to bolster their frontcourt.

After acquiring 6-foot-4 inch forward NaLyssa Smith from the Dallas Wings for a first-round pick in the 2027 WNBA draft, the Aces waived veteran guard Tiffany Mitchell and second-year center Elizabeth Kitley.

Smith was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Baylor. She spent the first three seasons of her career with the Indiana Fever before she was sent to the Wings in a three-team trade in February. She has averaged 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in her four-year career.

sick to my stomach dawg , never seen this coming but .. i love you dallas nation, thank you 4 everything.

— #1 (@NaLyssaSmith) June 30, 2025

on another note tho if i could’ve chose anywhere to go it would’ve been vegas so hella excited 4 this new opportunity wit my goat . 🙂‍↔️🤝🏾

— #1 (@NaLyssaSmith) June 30, 2025

The Aces have not had a first-round pick since Kierstan Bell in 2022. They have already dealt their 2026 pick to the Seattle Storm in a three-team trade for Jewell Loyd.

Smith, 24, averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18 games this season. She is on the final year of a protected rookie scale deal worth about $90,000. Mitchell’s and Kitley’s contracts accounted for about $170,000 of cap space, which means the Aces could have room for another move.

Mitchell, a former South Carolina teammate of Aces star A’ja Wilson, averaged 3.7 points in 16 games with two starts for the Aces.

Aces coach Becky Hammon often praised Mitchell. She started her to open the second half of an 84-81 win over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.

“We had really been struggling with third quarters. … I thought (Mitchell) did a really great job with her minutes, just being disruptive defensively but also giving us a little more space again on the offensive end,” Hammon said after Mitchell finished with six points in 20 minutes.

Mitchell recently said that adjusting to her role with the Aces was difficult but she believed Hammon trusted her to handle it.

Kitley, a second-round pick for the Aces in 2024, was expected to be a key development piece. After an ACL injury cut her Virginia Tech career short, the Aces lauded her as a steal in the draft.

The 6-6 Kitley wasn’t signed to a contract until this season. She worked with the Aces’ personnel to recover last season, and the Aces presumably protected her from the Golden State Valkyries in December’s expansion draft.

Kitley averaged 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds in 12 games with one start.

Now carrying the league minimum of 11 players, the Aces still await the returns of center Megan Gustafson (lower left leg injury) and veteran forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (pregnancy).

Hammon said last Tuesday that Gustafson was still far from a return to the court after she sustained a Grade 3 ankle sprain during training camp.

“They’re moving her a little bit more and more every week,” Hammon said. “We’re not trying to rush her back. We want it to heal really well so we’re not dealing with it for the rest of the season.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.