This story has been updated following the free agent signing of six-time WNBA All-Star DeWanna Bonner on Sunday.
The Indiana Fever have a new look.
In a flurry of free agency signings and trades, the Fever front office made moves to turn Indiana into a WNBA championship contender.
This offseason, it’s obvious Indiana was looking for shooters and winners. And the Fever got them.
First, Indiana executed its No. 1 priority: re-signing Kelsey Mitchell. The longtime Fever player will return for her eighth season in an Indiana jersey on a core contract in 2025. Mitchell averaged 19.2 points and shot a career-best 40.2% from 3-point range in 2024 and pairs perfectly with her backcourt partner Caitlin Clark.
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The Fever also added free agent Natasha Howard, who was originally drafted by the Fever in 2014. She confirmed the signing on Instagram and in an essay on WSLAM, saying “To Fever fans: I’m excited.”
Howard, who is coming off a stint with the Dallas Wings, will bring some much-needed defensive prowess to this young Fever team. She missed some time with a broken foot in 2024, but averaged 17.6 points a game over 27 games.
Indiana was second-to-last in defensive rating in the WNBA in 2024, allowing an average of 107.5 points per 100 possessions. As a stretch 4, Howard will work well with Fever center Aliyah Boston in penetrating the paint.
The Fever have a potent offense, with Clark, Boston and Kelsey Mitchell as their Big Three. What they need is a new defensive scheme and someone to hold them accountable on that end of the floor, and Howard is just the type of player to do that.
Howard’s signing, however, posed another question about the Fever’s roster: What will happen to NaLyssa Smith?
The Fever answered that question the same day: Smith, along with the No. 8 pick in the 2025 draft, is heading to Dallas.
Indiana drafted Smith out of Baylor with the No. 2 pick in 2022, and she started at power forward all three years since, with career averages of 13 points and eight rebounds. But her production had a downtick in 2024 as the Fever coaching staff favored Temi Fagbenle. Smith was vocal about her disappointment with playing time as her numbers dropped to 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. So, she’ll have a fresh start in her home state of Texas.
Smith heading to Dallas was part of a three-team trade that also saw Satou Sabally and other Dallas assets go to Phoenix.
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In return, Indiana got 28-year-old Sophie Cunningham and the No. 19 pick in the draft from Phoenix.
Cunningham, a 6-1 shooting guard, will head to Indiana on a one-year contract worth $100,000 and become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. Salary-wise, the trade is nearly a wash: Smith is set to earn around $91,000 in 2025 and will be a restricted free agent with Dallas holding her rights in 2026.
Cunningham is a sharpshooter and a 3-and-D player. She averaged a 37.8% clip from 3-point range and is a career 36.2% from beyond the arc, giving Indiana another threat at the perimeter. She started 21 games and appeared in all 40 for the Mercury last season, averaging 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and two assists per game.
The Fever weren’t done. On Sunday, they added six-time All-Star DeWanna Bonner via free agency. A 15-year WNBA vet and two-time champion, Bonner brings another valuable veteran voice to a young Indiana core and played for new Fever coach Stephanie White in Connecticut.
With all of these moves, Indiana’s starting lineup will likely shift: Clark and Mitchell will continue in the backcourt, and Bonner and Howard will likely join Boston upfront.
The lineup is an upgrade both offensively and defensively, assuming those five are able to jell well with each other. Bonner and Howard will bring space to the lineup, and that space could not only force opponents to choose who they want to guard, but potentially always leave a good basket open for Indiana.
The three newcomers, along with White, will also bring a different defensive philosophy to Indiana — something the Fever desperately need.
New Fever president Kelly Krauskopf and GM Amber Cox have made one thing clear this season: Indiana isn’t rebuilding anymore.
Multiple moves this offseason make it so Indiana could be a contender this year.
The window is small: Cunningham and Mitchell’s deals are only for the 2025 season, and Bonner and Howard’s likely are as well. Lexie Hull, who will likely be a crucial depth piece, exhausts her rookie contract after this season.
Even looking a bit further, Boston’s rookie contract expires after the 2026 season. As the 2023 No. 1 pick and two-time All-Star, she will likely command a max contract. Clark’s contract runs through the 2027 season, and Indiana will need to go through the same thing then.
The competition, as always, will be tough. New York is returning most of its main pieces from a championship season in 2024, and the same goes for runner-up Minnesota Lynx and semifinalist Las Vegas Aces.
Indiana will need a couple more pieces to round out the 2025 roster, including a backup point guard that can mimic Clark’s play style and some more depth behind Boston and Howard in the frontcourt.
But the intentions are clear: the time is now for Indiana to win a championship.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Indiana Fever trades, signings built it into WNBA title contender