What's next for Aces? After title defense falls short, Jackie Young's impending free agency looms large

In the closing seconds of regulation on Friday night, after the Las Vegas Aces' 11-point lead had melted away, Chelsea Gray took a handoff from A'ja Wilson, drove to her favorite spot on the elbow and put up her patented fadeaway jumper. It floated up, hit the back of the rim and the front of the rim, then spun out, sending the game to overtime. That turned out to be the last gasp for the Aces. They scored six points in the extra frame in an eventual 87-77 loss to the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3 of their semifinal series. The defeat cemented a three-game sweep -- the first time the Aces have been swept since 2020 -- and ended their quest for a second repeat and fourth overall championship in the last five seasons. It was fitting that they lost to the Valkyries, who were led by former assistant coach Natalie Nakase, and had Kiah Stokes starting at center and Tiffany Hayes running their bench unit. Nakase won two titles while sitting next to Becky Hammon, while Stokes was a part of all three of the Aces' title teams before they let her walk in the offseason. Hayes was the 2024 Sixth Player of the Year in her lone season with the franchise. The trio served as a stark reminder of all the talent that has left Las Vegas in recent years and not been properly replaced. At a certain point, you can only ask Wilson, Jackie Young and Gray to do so much. The Aces reached that limit against the Valkyries. Wilson was spectacular again this season, winning her third consecutive MVP and becoming the first player in league history to win the award five times. She averaged 26.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks on 52.7/40.4/86.4 shooting splits. Her 26.2 points per game were the second-highest single-season scoring average ever -- behind only her own 26.9 points in 2024 -- and gave her a third consecutive scoring title. She also led the league in blocks for the fifth consecutive season. Young, who finished 11th in MVP voting, was also terrific. Her 18.9 points and 6.8 assists were both career-highs, and she was one of four players to finish in the top-10 in both scoring and assists. Gray, meanwhile, had her best season since she broke her foot in the 2023 Finals, and averaged 12 points and 6.7 assists on 44.1/36.5/93 shooting splits. Together, that trio led the Aces to a 31-13 record, the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and a record-setting eighth consecutive semifinal appearance. But in the end, they didn't have enough help, due to a combination of salary cap constraints, poor roster building, injuries and a big bet on Chennedy Carter that failed. We'll start with Carter, a former lottery pick who has bounced around the league due to concerns about her conduct, both on and off the court. She got off to an incredible start with the Aces, but they, too, eventually soured on the Carter experience and waived her in July after just 13 games. Without Carter, their options in the backcourt were limited to Loyd, whom they inexplicably gave a three-year, $2.4 million contract in the offseason despite her best days clearly being behind her, and Dana Evans. Loyd averaged eight points on 36.5% shooting and went down with a leg injury in the playoffs. Evans, meanwhile, was limited to 14 games after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason. In the frontcourt, their depth took a serious hit when starting power forward NaLyssa Smith went down with a season-ending non-contact knee injury in August. Their options there were so limited that by the semifinals, Hammon was giving heavy minutes to Kalani Brown, who didn't join the team until late August after Smith's injury. Eventually, the lack of support and the pressure of vying for another repeat became too much, both physically and emotionally. In Game 2 of the Aces' first-round series with the Indiana Fever, Wilson had an uncharacteristic outburst at a fan. She received a technical and later apologized to her team for the incident, which became a national conversation. Against the Valkyries, Wilson was limited to 23 points on 41.1% shooting. Young was even worse at 14.3 points on 31.6% from the field. Gray tried her best to support them with 17.3 points a night, but no one else on the Aces scored even 20 total points in the series. "The individual award is going to be what it's going to be," Wilson said of her fifth MVP prior to Game 3. "I love it. I cherish it. I don't take it for granted. But the main goal is always going to be a championship." "It's just not our time, and I'm OK with that," she said after the defeat. "I'm at peace with the great things we did do. I can't harp on this game too much. I'm just very happy that our team was locked in and we showed up for one another. Obviously, the outcome's not what we wanted, but we're still champions at heart. We're gonna have another opportunity. I guarantee you that." Season at a glanceRecord: 31-13 (No. 3 seed)Offensive rating: 112.9 (2nd)Defensive rating: 105.9 (5th)Net rating: plus-7 (4th)Biggest strength: Having A'ja WilsonWilson remains the best player in the world by a wide margin, and has almost single-handedly ensured that they've remained a top-level team despite departures, injuries and an aging supporting cast. Kelsey Plum and Dearica Hamby are gone, Gray isn't the same player she was before her foot injury in 2023, Loyd hasn't been the player they expected, Smith is out for the season, Dana Evans has been limited to 14 appearances and the Carter experiment flamed out. And yet, the Aces won 31 games this season and were one of three teams to finish in the top five in both offensive and defensive rating. With Wilson on the floor, the Aces had a plus-13.1 net rating, and when she was off the floor, they had a minus-11 net rating -- a staggering plus-24.8 net rating differential. Biggest weakness: Lackluster supporting castWilson is the best player in the world, Young is a consistent All-WNBA-level performer and Gray, even at this stage of her career, remains an elite playmaker. But at a certain point, you need more than three reliable players, and the Aces just didn't have that, especially after Carter's departure and Smith's injury. It didn't help that Dana Evans, Jewell Loyd and Stephanie Talbot were all banged up during the playoffs as well. During the regular season, Wilson, Young and Gray accounted for 2,405 of their 4,025 points (59.8%) and 711 of their 970 assists (73.3%). In the playoffs, those ratios were even higher. That trio scored 377 of their 503 points (74.9%) and dished out 79 of their 100 assists (79%). Key free agentsJackie Young (unrestricted)NaLyssa Smith (unrestricted)Stephanie Talbot (unrestricted)Cheyenne Parker-Tyus (unrestricted)Biggest question: Can they re-sign Jackie Young? Last offseason, the Aces re-signed Wilson, Gray and Loyd on three-year deals that will keep them in Las Vegas through the 2028 season. Young, on the other hand, only signed a one-year deal, which means she will once again be an unrestricted free agent this winter. Young reportedly did not meet with any other teams during free agency, but her decision to only sign for one year did raise some eyebrows. It's worth noting that she also left Klutch Sports (which represents Wilson, Gray and Loyd) for WME Sports, and dropped Puma to sign a new shoe deal with Skechers. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, Young has spent her entire career with the Aces and grown into one of the best players in the league alongside Wilson and Gray. Together, they've won three championships, while Young has racked up five All-Star Appearances, the 2022 Most Improved Player trophy and two All-WNBA honors (she'll likely add a third this season). Las Vegas' entire offseason will flow from what happens with Young. Path A: Young re-signsYoung and Wilson are extremely close, and it's certainly possible that Young decides to stay in Las Vegas. She knows the city and the organization. Hammon is one of the best coaches in the league, and playing alongside Wilson guarantees a base level of success. The new collective bargaining agreement instituted revenue sharing so we don't know the exact salary cap figure for the 2027 season, though we can expect it will be up slightly from the $7 million it was at in 2026. Las Vegas was already paying Young a max, so they would have no problem re-signing her. Currently, the Aces have just over $4 million on the books for next season, and re-signing Young to a max would take them well above $5 million.If Young re-signs, the rest of their offseason would consist of trying to fill out a more reliable supporting cast around Young, Wilson, Gray and Loyd. Smith and Talbot, who were both starters when healthy, are unrestricted free agents, and it will be fascinating to see what the Aces do there. Smith was excellent after coming over from Dallas in a trade last season, but suffered a season-ending knee injury in August and her availability for 2027 remains in question. Talbot, meanwhile, came on strong after the World Cup, but really struggled prior to the break. She wasn't making much more than the minimum and would make sense to keep around at that price, but the Aces would probably prefer to move her into a reserve role. Re-signing Young to a max and committing over $5 million to six players would leave the Aces with limited flexibility, and building a bench would not be easy, as the franchise is well aware. Path B: Young leavesIf Young decides to leave in free agency, it would be a massive blow to the Aces, especially with Gray and Loyd now in their mid-30s. Young just finished 10th in the league in scoring and fourth in assists after taking on more playmaking responsibility this season, has a proven track record of playoff success and is arguably the best two-way perimeter player in the league. Even if the Aces were able to sign-and-trade Young, which they would surely try to do if she indicated she wanted to leave, there would be no way to fully replace what she does for this team. Young's departure would open a max salary slot, and the Aces would assuredly chase one of the other big-name free agents on the market this winter. The two most direct replacements are Kelsey Plum and Kelsey Mitchell. We can pretty safely cross Plum off the list given her history with the franchise. Mitchell, who finished as the runner-up to Wilson in the scoring race and was third in MVP voting, feels like a real possibility, however. Napheesa Collier is the only other true star on the market, and it would certainly be worth reaching out to her. Signing Collier would give the Aces a much different look, but Wilson and Collier would be a dynamite frontcourt to build around. If the Aces replaced Young with Mitchell or Collier, the rest of their work would involve making moves to fill out the supporting cast, just as if Young had stayed. But if, for some reason, the Aces lost Young and were unable to convince any stars to join in free agency, the front office would have to get creative or accept something of a gap year. WNBA Draft outlookThe Aces traded their 2027 first-round pick to the Dallas Wings in exchange for Smith ahead of the deadline last season. The move already helped them win a title, and was well worth it even though Smith went down with a season-ending injury in August and is now an unrestricted free agent. The Aces do have their second- and third-round picks (Nos. 28 and 43), but it's unlikely they'll add anyone at those spots who can help them right away in 2027.