The Las Vegas Aces are in an interesting spot when it comes to the end of their roster.
According to Richard Cohen of Her Hoop Stats, the Aces are built in a way that they have exactly enough money to keep a veteran player and the two second-round picks from the last two seasons, Liz Kitley and Aaliyah Nye. That would put a few rookies on the outside looking in — namely, Harmoni Turner and the undrafted Deja Kelly.
But that doesn't mean the Aces are set on that particular roster construction. Nye, this year's second-round pick, isn't a lock to make the roster, plus Cheyenne Parker-Tyus is pregnant and the team should be able to add a hardship signing to replace her spot until she returns. So, there's hope that one of those two players can find a way on to the final roster.
Could that player be Kelly? Based on how she's looked so far this preseason, maybe!
Deja Kelly is making a strong case for a roster spot in Vegas
Kelly, a highly-touted player out of Duncanville High School who was ESPN's No. 10 recruit in the 2020 class, never quite lived up to expectations in college. There were glimpses of something special, of a player who could hit big shots and run an offense, but consistency was a huge issue. It often felt like Kelly purposefully made things tougher on herself with her shot selection.
That shot selection played a role in Kelly's inefficiency at both North Carolina and Oregon, as she never shot 40 percent or better in any of her seasons.
However, Kelly was asked to be the lead scoring option on her college teams. She was the player who had the ball in her hands, the one who had to elevate the team. That's a tough role to take on. Maybe Kelly would perform better in a scaled-down role in the WNBA?
Well, early returns seem to suggest that's the case.
In the Vegas preseason opener against Dallas, Kelly played just seven minutes, going 4-for-5 from the floor for nine points. Then against Phoenix, she was on the floor for 13 minutes, scoring a team-high 15 points on 5-for-7shooting.
The minute distribution makes it appear that Kelly has already surpassed Turner in the battle for a roster spot, but Nye still appears to be ahead of her. And with Megan Gustafson currently sidelined, the Aces almost have to keep Liz Kitley on the roster.
Still, if we assume a roster spot will be opened up via hardship, Kelly has made a strong statement that she should be the player Vegas uses that on. She looks like the team's best rookie so far and would provide some needed backup ball-handling ability — as of now, Vegas doesn't really have enough backcourt depth.
Don't necessarily expect Kelly to push both of the team's draft picks off the roster, but Turner can't feel good about how the minute distribution is going and Nye's been inconsistent so far, with one strong shooting night followed by a disaster of a performance against Phoenix. Vegas needs to find a way to keep Deja Kelly around.