Why did LSU’s Alexis Morris get cut from her WNBA team? The answer lies in the numbers.

Alexis Morris’ release from the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun — the team that drafted her just last month — may have come as a surprise to casual fans.

Those who closely follow the WNBA know a cold truth: It’s all too common.

It’s an issue of pure numbers.

Morris, the standout point guard who helped LSU win a national championship last month, was taken in the second round of the WNBA draft April 10.

She was one of three players cut by the Sun this week as WNBA teams trim their rosters to the league maximum.

“This is a tough league,” general manager Darius Taylor told WTIC-TV. “It was a tough decision, but some of it is, we’re trying to get our roster together, trying to get our (player) rotations right and getting them used to playing with each other. It’s a hard league to make. It’s unfortunate that we had to do it, but we had to do it to move forward and get our team prepared for opening day.”

Connecticut Sun General Manager Darius Taylor and Assistant General Manager Morgan Tuck on the decision to waive Alexis Morris, Ashten Prechtel and Diamond Battles: pic.twitter.com/KxQnWth2GU

— Jonah Karp (@JonahKarpTV) May 11, 2023

Morris is now free to catch on with another team if she can.

But for her and many others, it’s a difficult climb.

The WNBA consists of 12 teams. Each team has a minimum of 11 players and a maximum of 12 players. Those parameters were set by the league and players’ collective bargaining agreement.

The math is simple: At any given time, a grand total of 144 women are on an WNBA roster.

And although the WNBA draft lasts three rounds, it’s common for draftees to get cut.

Look no further than last year, when the Las Vegas Aces traded up for the Nos. 8 and 13 picks. They drafted Mya Hollngshed and ex-LSU point guard Khayla Pointer.

The Aces cut both players. (Pointer caught on with the Indiana Fever last year. She is now a free agent.) 

Of all players drafted from the WNBA’s inception in 1997 through last season, 42% never made a roster.

The league is looking into adding expansion teams, and over the years, fans have called for a roster expansion to 13 or 14 players per team. But as WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert said before this year’s draft: “We think today our rosters are the right size.”