Even when nothing is promised, hope, heart, and hustle collide as sweat-soaked players remain ready. Being great isn’t enough. You can rebound, battle, score, bring energy, and still pack your bags the next morning.
Shey Peddy grabbed six rebounds in 23 dazzling minutes on June 29 for the Los Angeles Sparks in a setback to the Chicago Sky. Three days later and 17 days after being signed to a hardship contract, Peddy, along with veteran Odyssey Sims, were released.
It’s a story that has become all too familiar.
Two days before Peddy’s release, Haley Jones played 21 energetic minutes for the Dallas Wings, finishing with eight points and seven rebounds in a win over Washington. Forty-eight hours later, she too was waived before being signed again on July 9 by Dallas. It was the latest turn in a season of uncertainty: signed by Phoenix on June 1, waived a week later, and picked up by Dallas on June 17.
“It’s definitely difficult, but it’s just trying to give yourself grace throughout this period, stay positive and be grateful for every opportunity,” Jones said to The Next pregame before the Wings dropped a 91-88 overtime decision to the Mystics on June 22. “It’s honestly crazy how it works, like when it worked with Phoenix, I was just at home working out. It was just like 10 days between getting waived by Atlanta and going to Phoenix. … There’s always an inkling it could be more or it could not be more. It’s difficult navigating the highs and lows and not letting yourself get too ahead of yourself, but it’s hard to figure out.”
Cold, hard math
Roster spots have always been a source of consternation among WNBA fans and a challenge for general managers who must balance their team’s needs against the wishes of those outside their organization. It may be easier to walk on the moon than it is to make an WNBA roster, given the numerous talented women’s basketball players who can compete at a high level.
The WNBA’s current roster model—11 to 12 players per team, with 10 healthy players required per game—makes every decision feel like a domino effect. Teams can carry a maximum of 12 players and a minimum of 11 throughout the season. If a team doesn’t meet the minimum roster size, it must sign another player within 72 hours. When injuries accumulate, hardship contracts provide temporary lifelines for franchises and offer an opportunity for a deserving player.
But once a regular returns, someone has to go. More often than not, it’s a player like Jones or Peddy—talented, driven, ready. They understand.
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It’s unfortunate and frustrating, which is one of many reasons why the WNBA has experienced exponential growth. The Golden State Valkyries started this season. Portland and Toronto are scheduled to begin next year, followed by Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia. Roster spots will have swelled from 144 to 216 players when Philadelphia begins its inaugural season in 2030.
According to HerHoopStats, the WNBA salary cap for the 2025 season is $1.507 million. This is the maximum amount a team can spend on player salaries during the season. The WNBA also has a minimum team salary, currently set at $1,261,440. The only way a team can exceed the salary cap during the regular season is if the league has granted them a hardship or emergency hardship exception.
“It’s tough,” Peddy said to The Next pregame before the Sparks dropped a home game to the Sky on June 29. “It’s easier said than done because people are like, ‘Oh, stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ It sounds good, but to live that life, you’ve got to put in the work and believe in yourself. At times, I was practicing with nothing for no reason. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t have a team to go to, and I’m just working out just to stay in shape. If you believe in yourself and still love the game, then always stay in the gym and continue to stay prepared. That’s what I did.”
According to a post from the Sparks X account, Peddy was released to make room for Rae Burrell, who was returning from injury, and Julie Allemand, who was scheduled to return to the team from competing in the EuroBasket tournament. It doesn’t make the news any easier to take.
Not every player who returned from competing in EuroBasket was guaranteed their roster spot, as the Golden State Valkyries released Julie Vanloo after she helped Belgium win the championship. Her release, accompanied by a heartfelt and emotional Instagram post, sparked considerable controversy on social media, especially after fans learned she missed the celebration because she was flying straight to San Francisco.
Later in the week, it was reported that after Vanloo flew cross-country on her dime, she left was standing outside Barclays Center with her luggage a few hours before tipoff, waiting to clear waivers so that the Sparks could officially sign her. As she waited, she watched fans in Liberty jerseys walk past, unsure if she’d even play that night. The phone rang, and a few minutes later, Vanloo was getting dressed for the Sparks. She played two minutes against the Liberty and 10 minutes two days later.
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These moments are more than footnotes—they’re snapshots of a cruel reality.
Acclimating to a new team and system is also hard on both the player and the coaching staff. Players must learn terminology, study film, and understand their roles, all while knowing they are likely to be part of that organization temporarily, like Grace Berger was for the Sparks. She was signed on June 15 and waived three days later.
“You’ve got to do it in a microwave, right, and it’s got to be fast,” Los Angeles Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts shared before a game last month. “But Shay Peddy is just a total pro. She landed at 1 a.m. on Saturday in Minneapolis, and we played at noon. So, how did we get her acclimated? Probably not as well as we’d like, but she was great, and she’s been a sponge ever since.
“We’ve met with her, and we’ve done a lot of extra stuff with her, just as a staff to get her familiarized. So much of it’s due to basketball being a team sport; there’s a lot of chemistry that goes into playing with each other for a while. So that takes a minute. But in terms of her getting caught up with what we’re trying to run and all those things, she’s done a good job. Grace [Berger] arrived last night at about 8 p.m., so we had a coach take her to dinner and review some things with her. We then met her early this morning at the shoot-around court. So, you do the best job you can. And you know with these players, it’s impressive that they show up ready to go.”
Grit and grace during storms
Remaining anchored in faith while navigating the valleys is challenging and frustrating, yet it is through these experiences that they write a story of courage, character, and consistency. Players in these situations lean into the unknown, waiting for a phone call. In the meantime, they are training, showing up, and leaning on family, which takes a special kind of strength. Little do they know that they are inspiring others with their grit and grace during the storms.
“For me, it’s the same people who have always been there for me,” said Jones when asked about her support system. “I’ve always had good relationships with my teammates, and many of them have reached out to me. Then it’s just my people: My parents, my brother, my boyfriend, and my best friends. They keep me grounded and doing a great job of keeping me from getting too high or too low. And one of my assistant coaches from Stanford, Brittany Anderson, we talk almost every day, as well as my trainer.”
Sometimes, not every decision is based on the roster. It also comes down to the complex issue of finances, which is where Kaila Charles was caught in when she was waived on June 14, cleared waivers on June 16, and resigned by the Wings on July 17 to a hardship contract. It was an emotional rollercoaster due to the uncertainty during the 48 hours leading up to re-signing with the Wings.
“I immediately talked to my family and my support system to tell them the news so they’re not shocked when they hear it,” Charles said. “Then we had traveled back from Vegas, so we had a day off, but I couldn’t go to practices or be in the mix of the team because I was technically not on the team. I was just in Dallas, with my family, taking a reset and a mental break. I went off on social media.
“I’m huge in my faith, so I was with the Lord, talking to him, and trying to figure out what’s next while trying not to be emotional because I understand that the business of the game and understanding like, okay, they want me back, but I can’t have resentment or be upset when I have this opportunity again. It was a lot to process, but I feel like I was able to have a clear head when I came back.”
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Charles, who was released by the Wings on June 30, has been through this before.
Drafted in 2020 by the Connecticut Sun, Charles was signed and waived by New York in 2022, and later joined Atlanta on another hardship deal. Experience doesn’t make it easier.
“I just had to shift my perspective,” Charles said. “Like, okay, I did get cut, but I have another opportunity. And luckily, it was with the same team. I was familiar with the system. I started at one point, so I just knew whatever time I get, I’m going to make the most of it. That’s been my mindset of impacting the team, trying to help them win, doing my best, and letting God handle the rest.”
Sometimes, the most essential item in a WNBA hardship player’s arsenal isn’t her jumper—it’s her suitcase. In the case of Peddy, she had two hours to pack and catch a flight to be present for the Sparks’ game in Minnesota the next day.
Jones had slightly more time. The Mercury officially signed the affable Jones to a hardship contract on June 1, but informed her that they were bringing her to the team on a Friday night. She had to be in Los Angeles the next day for a Sunday game. In addition to suffering a fractured and bloody nose in a game against Minnesota on June 4, Jones averaged 2.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in under 12 minutes in four games for the Mercury.
“When the hardship is over, it’s different from team to team,” Jones said. “I think with Phoenix, I got waived on a Sunday, and my waivers cleared Wednesday, then Dallas called me on Friday. It was a quick turnaround, but yeah, agents really cover most of that. Different teams give you different amounts of time to leave. Whatever it may be depends on the organization. Phoenix was great, so I was able to get home pretty quick to get back to work. I worked out for five days, and then I was in Dallas. So, it’s a crazy process, but I think it really just depends on your situation with the team, how that organization runs things to get you out of it, and they’re usually pretty good with trying to get you quickly into your next situation to have the next opportunity.”
‘At the end of the day, it’s a business‘
Of the 15 players signed in June to hardship contracts, according to Across The Timeline, only Jones, Aari McDonald (Indiana), Laeticia Amihere, Kaitlyn Chen (Golden State), Mackenzie Holmes (Seattle), and Kianna Williams (Phoenix) remained on their respective rosters through July 9.
McDonald’s journey reflects the grind. Signed by Indiana on June 2, waived on June 13, and re-signed on June 25 for the rest of the season, McDonald shined, scoring 12 points in 25 impactful minutes to help the Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx on the road to win the Commissioner’s Cup. During a chaotic three-week stretch, McDonald went from being out of the league to hoisting a trophy.
In a league with too few roster spots because of the revolving door of hardship contracts and far too much talent where there’s no guarantee of tomorrow, only the discipline of today, players believe in a role that they may never officially receive. It’s why they stay in shape without a schedule and study film without a playbook.
“I understand at the end of the day, it’s a business,” Charles said. “I’m still doing what I love, and even though I may be signed on a hardship, I still have the opportunity that most people don’t, so I’m going to make the most of it and have fun. It’s a tough league. There are thousands of players trying to get into the WNBA.
“Because somebody gets waived or they don’t make a team, that doesn’t reflect who they are as a basketball player or their skill. It just might not have been the right fit. In my case, it was a financial situation, and that doesn’t accurately reflect my skills or impact. And I had to remember that and know that I belong in this league because I performed in here, and I made it for a reason … It’s just finding the right fit, finding the right system, finding the right coach, and once you do that, you can excel.”
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Charles also referenced Golden State’s Kayla Thornton, who was waived three times early in her career. Now, Thornton is a WNBA champion and a key piece to Golden State’s success.
Yet through the unexpected twists of life, what remains is their resilience, growth, and quiet conviction that their story is far from finished as they hold on to purpose, even if the league isn’t ready for it yet.
Sometimes, greatness is revealed in waiting and persistence.
Jones, who spent two full seasons with the Dream before being waived at the start of the season, reflected on her journey in a recent Instagram post: “reconnecting with friends and family and being surrounded by real love has been the biggest blessing. The path may look different, but the purpose is the same. Grateful for it all.”
The Next’s Cameron Ruby contributed reporting for this story.
