The Las Vegas Aces announced Monday they acquired forward NaLyssa Smith from the Dallas Wings for a 2027 first-round pick.
The Aces waived Tiffany Mitchell and Liz Kitley to facilitate the deal.
Smith, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, was averaging 6.7 points on 42.5 percent shooting along with 4.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in her first year with Dallas.
The 24-year-old, who’s in a relationship with Wings guard DiJonai Carrington, had conflicting emotions upon learning of the trade:
Carrington wasn’t thrilled with the news, either:
Smith at least provides some more depth in a frontcourt that needs help for three-time MVP A’ja Wilson. Las Vegas is 10th in rebounding with 33.5 boards per game, and it’s averaging by far the fewest shot attempts in the restricted area (9.1), according to WNBA.com.
A lot of fans will argue the Aces overpaid significantly for a player who simply hasn’t lived up to her draft position and saw her role on the Indiana slowly diminish as the team became a playoff threat.
A first-round pick, especially in a year that’s as loaded as 2027 projects to be, is paying a massive premium for her services.
USC’s JuJu Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, Texas’ Madison Booker and LSU’s Mikaylah Williams headline the list of players eligible to make the leap to the WNBA in 2027. Watkins could push her arrival to 2028 if she medically redshirts this year after tearing her ACL in March.
Still, that’s a lot of talent to be hitting the draft at the same time. Even if the Aces remain competitive for the next few years and stay out of the lottery in 2027, their first-rounder could have some serious value.
The Wings, meanwhile, now have another pick they can use to fill out their supporting cast around 2025 No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers.
This is why having a dedicated general manager is necessary.
Las Vegas has yet to replace Natalie Williams after declining to renew her contract last November. Team president Nikki Fargas and head coach Becky Hammon are presumably sharing GM duties.
Head coaches, especially those with multiple championships, don’t like to lose, so it stands to reason they’d be more prone to thinking too much about the short term at the expense of the future.
Smith makes the Aces a little better but doesn’t single-handedly solve all of their problems. And now Las Vegas finds itself without a first-round pick in either of the next two years after having already sent its 2026 selection to the Seattle Storm in the Jewell Loyd trade.
That’s not a great formula for building a sustainable contender.
