Frontcourt depth was already a concern for the Las Vegas Aces, but the situation has gotten even worse.
We already knew the team would be without one of its biggest offseason acquisitions, former Dream forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, because she's currently pregnant, so the team was counting heavily on former Iowa star Megan Gustafson to give backup minutes at the five behind Kiah Stokes.
Unfortunately for the Aces, Gustafson is now hurt as well. She suffered a lower leg injury and will be out indefinitely. An already weak frontcourt — as far as depth goes, at least — just got even weaker. So, what can the Aces do?
Megan Gustafson injury leaves Aces thin on the inside
With Parker-Tyus out for the foreseeable future, the Aces were counting on Gustafson to play a larger role than she played last season.
In 2024, Gustafson appeared in 38 games for Vegas, including seven starts. She averaged 10.7 minutes per game with averages of 3.7 points and 1.9 rebounds. Not great numbers, but Gustafson provided size off the bench to help a team that lacked depth.
But now, the situation is dire once again. With Gustafson and Parker-Tyus out, the only bigs on the roster behind Wilson and Stokes are Elizabeth Kitley and Queen Egbo. This roster is very unbalanced right now, with the team being extremely heavy on guards. It makes you wonder if some kind of roster change is on the horizon.
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When Stokes first went to the bench, she was replaced by Kierstan Bell, a 6-foot-1 forward who can play some small-ball four. Wilson moved to the five at that point. When Wilson subbed out, Stokes came back in.
Vegas spent much of the game playing small. At one point, Wilson was at the five with Chelsea Gray, Jewell Loyd, Tiffany Mitchell and Jackie Young around her. That's a very fun lineup, but it's not really sustainable over the long term.
The Aces have options at the four if they play small, but if they want to play a traditional lineup with either Stokes or Wilson on the bench, what do they do?
Kitley and Egbo both stayed on the bench until the fourth quarter. Neither player getting any run with the starters feels like a bad sign for their chances of making an impact this season. Kitley is looking to make her WNBA debut after injuries prevented her from playing last year while Egbo has bounced around since she was drafted in 2022, playing for five teams already.
Ideally, Vegas will hope Kitley can get up to speed quickly, but that seems like a lot to ask of a player who many weren't sure could stick in the league even before her torn ACL suffered last March.
Maybe Gustafson's injury isn't as bad as it sounds and the Aces will get her back soon?
Maybe the team thinks they can survive with Bell as the backup four and one of Wilson and Stokes on the floor at all times?
Maybe the Aces plan to add a big through free agency or trade between now and the start of the regular season? They could hope that a team like the Sparks — who have too many bigs — has to cut an intriguing young player like Sania Feagin or Liatu King. They could hope that Minnesota's roster crunch makes someone like Dorka Juhasz available.
But they've got to do something. A team with championship aspirations can't enter 2025 with zero reliable center depth. Waiting around for Gustafson and Parker-Tyus to return is technically an option, but it's an option that will lead to more early-season losses than the Aces want, something that could heavily impact playoff seeding.