The Indiana Fever made their final roster cuts Wednesday, waiving Megan McConnell, Kayana Traylor and Jessica Timmons as the team trimmed to its opening lineup ahead of the regular season.
Coach Stephanie White said roster-cut day is one of the hardest parts of preseason. “It’s always hard because these players are competing at such a high level, and it’s what they want. It’s their dream,” she said. “It’s always really tough, but at the same time, it’s the nature of the beast.”
The moves leave Indiana with one development spot still open. The Fever already signed second-round pick Justine Pissott to a development player contract after the draft, and the team could choose to bring back one of the players it waived once they clear waivers 48 hours after being cut.
The development spots are one of the new wrinkles in the collective bargaining agreement agreed to in late March, when the league created two such slots per team. Players on those contracts can practice and travel with the team, can be activated for up to 12 games per season and can be moved onto the standard roster at any time, but they cannot be sent back down without first being waived. That gives Indiana a little more flexibility now, and a decision to make soon.
