So Justine Pissott is a very interesting situation when it comes to the Indiana Fever because it’s very clear as a player that she is a super high upside pick, a super duper high upside player. However, I think what we heard today greatly increases the chance of her being signed by another team and making a full WNBA roster and getting to live her dream as a WNBA player.
I just don’t know if that team is going to be the Fever. I think she is tied down for the Indiana Fever for another three days. In three days’ time, a team can offer her a full contract. I don’t think people understand that there are teams in the WNBA that have wide open roster spots.
So it all comes down to this. If you look at the Phoenix Mercury, the Phoenix Mercury basically didn’t use a draft pick this year and they need minimum rookie contracts. So they signed all the UDFAs.
They signed Dugan. They signed Garzone. They signed Shaeski. They signed Cara Dunn. They signed basically all the players that were undrafted free agents.
Who will make this team from the Phoenix Mercury? It will be Kahleah Copper, Natasha Mack, Monique Akoa Makani, Kat Westbeld, probably Prechtel, DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, Wickham, probably Kiara Leslie, and probably Kiana Williams.
And I think none of the others will make the team because let’s be real, Jarn Garzone is of the same mold.
People are saying, “All these teams passed on Pissott twice.” Yeah, the Mercury didn’t. Not only that, you’ve seen already in preseason that she can shoot the ball and that there’s potential for defense.
That’s one of those things where some people come in and stink it up even as a high draft pick. If there was a redraft of this current draft, she probably doesn’t go first round. She goes early second round. I think she looked much better than Marta Suarez looked.
But this right here for me does not sound like people saying, “She’s happy with the Fever. Nobody’s going to sign her.” First of all, I think someone’s going to sign her. Someone’s going to offer her a full contract because you don’t have to cut anybody.
This is from Indy Star TV, so let’s take a listen right here to what Justine Pissott says about being on a developmental contract.
“Does it help having that developmental contract in place? Does that alleviate a little bit of the pressure on you as you try and find your way with things?”
“Honestly, not as much as you probably think. My goal is still to make a 12-player roster. Again, I’m super thankful that I’m even considered to be on that contract, but the main goal is still to be able to come to the 12 spot.”
It sounds like she says “make a 12-player roster.” She didn’t say “the 12-player roster.” She said “a 12-player roster.”
We have to be completely honest. That is what every single player on a developmental contract wants. Play so well in preseason that even if your team doesn’t pick you up, another team takes you.
That is the unfortunate reality of the situation. It’s likely the reason they pulled her because, if we’re being real, she played the least minutes. Every other player that came on in that third-string unit played the rest of the game.
They pulled her and went with four five-foot-nine players. They did not want her out on the floor because everyone knows the Fever know if she hit two more threes, they have to do one of two things: call her up immediately or cut somebody.
I don’t know whether or not the Fever are going to let her walk or they’re going to cut somebody to keep her. That’s something only the Fever know.
However, everybody knows it’s been made very clear that the Indiana Fever have gone into this knowing who their 12-player roster is, knowing who they want to bring, and with the intention of bringing 12 specific players.
That does not include Justine Pissott as their squad player, and Justine Pissott just made it clear she wants to make a 12-player roster.
There is a very good possibility that that 12-player roster is not the Indiana Fever. I think fans need to realize that.
Again, you’re looking through the comments saying, “Do not mess this up. She has size and talent.” She’s already signed developmental. She’s protected as much as she can be at this point.
She’s protected for three more days. In three days, somebody can call her up.
People don’t realize the developmental contract just means another team can’t sign you to a developmental contract. That’s all it means.
If you’re going to put someone on a developmental contract, you probably don’t want them on the roster because if you wanted them on the roster, you would put them on the roster.
It’s going to be a very difficult decision for the Indiana Fever to make because they’re not going to get rid of Makayla Timpson.
It becomes a question of whether they believe that Shatori Walker-Kimbrough is going to bring more to the team, or whether they think long term with Justine Pissott for four years.
Based on what we have seen from the Indiana Fever this offseason, my prediction is that they more than likely choose to keep Justine Pissott over Walker-Kimbrough if it comes down to that.
It probably will because she showed that she can survive out there.
I think the likelihood of Justine Pissott being on the roster is relatively high, but don’t get it twisted. The Indiana Fever don’t want to have to make that decision.
The Indiana Fever want to hide Justine Pissott and then next year bring her into the team.
It’s very obvious that’s what they want to do. The problem is, to do that, the Indiana Fever basically have to keep her on the sidelines as a practice player and hope that between Friday and September not one team tries to sign her.
The Portland Fire have infinite cap space. If somebody goes down for the season, all they want to do as an organization is swing for upside.
There are significant teams that, if someone gets injured, will look at her.
If I’m the Mystics, this makes a lot of sense because nobody on the Mystics can shoot.
The Mystics are going to be your fun tanking team. They have a team that doesn’t fit and makes no sense on paper, but it’s a whole bunch of talent.
The Portland Fire are shamelessly tanking.
The Seattle Storm also have some cap space flexibility because of the Kia Nurse contract, and they might say, “We’re going to sign her. If we have to cut her later, we cut her later.”
There are so many situations where the Fever have to make that decision.
The question is what do the Fever do?
Because it’s clear that she wants to make a 12-player roster. She is not happy just being a developmental player.
I don’t mean she’s going to be a locker room problem or that she’s angry. I mean she wants more. She wants to make a team.
The Indiana Fever as an organization have basically said through their media that the roster is a closed shop.
That is her goal.
Based on her performances, her size, what she looks like, and her measurables, somebody is going to force the Fever’s hand and see how much the Indiana Fever want to keep her.
My prediction is they do, but it’s not a guarantee.
We have to stop talking about her like she’s definitely going to spend the whole season on a developmental contract because the odds of that are slim to none.
Whether that’s for the Fever or elsewhere, she is almost certainly going to be playing on a full contract.
We have to realize that.
It’s just whether or not we think the Fever make a long-term decision over a short-term decision.
I think they do.
I actually think they do because they pulled her out of that game because they were trying to hide her.
It was as simple as that.
They pulled her out because if she hit two more threes, the second the Fever’s exclusive rights to her ended on Friday, another team would sign her immediately.
A team would sign her to a one-year rookie-scale deal based on that.
I think it still happens because smart teams are looking at this and saying the Fever don’t want anyone seeing more of her.
Some people are looking at it positively, saying the Fever have seen enough and they’re going to bring her onto the team.
But we heard from today that she wants more than a developmental contract.
So yeah.
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