3 Ways Fever Might Have Undermined Caitlin Clark’s Season after DeWanna Bonner’s Release

This season was supposed to be Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever’s time to shine. The superstar guard spent all offseason resting and preparing to elevate her game so that the veteran teammates the front office brought in would get the best version of her.

The 23-year-old worked out every time she could. She was working on her game on the morning of her birthday, before spending time with Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game, and before attending concerts.

She was determined to get stronger so opponents wouldn’t push her around like they did in her rookie season. She also worked on expanding her game after understanding how defenders would scheme to stop her.

All that, along with the influx of champion veterans, DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, Sydney Colson, and Sophie Cunningham, was supposed to turn the Fever into championship contenders. That was the goal the front office had in mind when the offseason opened.

Instead, they now stand 8th in the standings with a 7-7 record. Embarrassingly, the Golden State Valkyries, a team that comprises role players, won against them and stands above them in the standings. Now, some signs show that somewhere the Fever undermined Clark’s season.

DeWanna Bonner exits Fever

The Indiana Fever made headlines when they signed 2-time champion DeWanna Bonner in the offseason. Their fans were ecstatic that the front office finally paired an elite player alongside Caitlin Clark. Bonner’s experience and leadership would help the young core take the next step.

It made sense as the 37-year-old can run the floor, defend, and shoot with great efficiency. She started the season as a starter, but soon, that changed, and she found herself coming off the bench. Bonner is an All-Star, and the last thing she would want is to be a role player.

She did not play in the past five games, citing personal reasons, and has now been waived. It was revealed that the 6-time All-Star was not happy with the fit. This is a bad look for the front office and head coach Stephanie White.

Bonner played under White at the Connecticut Sun. That means the 48-year-old head coach should have had the best understanding of whether her star player would fit in with Caitlin Clark and the rest. Now, Bonner’s exit leaves the Fever without a good small forward.

Undermining players close to Caitlin Clark

When DeWanna Bonner signed with the Indiana Fever, they still had Katie Lou Samuelson on the roster. She was signed by the previous regime with the idea that she would be their starting small forward. Last season, Samuelson did struggle.

But she worked on her game in the offseason and improved her conditioning. She was expected to stay, but in line with Bonner’s signing, she asked to be released and signed with the Seattle Storm. There, she reunited with another former Fever star in Erica Wheeler.

Both these players were part of Caitlin Clark’s inner circle. Wheeler lost her starting point guard role to the rookie, yet became her mentor and one of her closest friends. That friendship was evident when the Fever went to Seattle for their previous game.

Samuelson was not playing as she was injured, but she, along with Lexie Hull, Clark, and their respective partners, vacationed in the offseason. The front office chose to ignore all that just to bring in players they felt would make the team instantly better.

Clamping down on Caitlin Clark’s natural competitiveness

Now that all of them have gone, Caitlin Clark does not have a true elite small forward to play with. Admittedly, Lexie Hull has stepped up, and so has Sophie Cunningham. However, they are still a while away from becoming true competitors.

Had the front office brought in players just to add to the squad that finished in the playoffs, this period of adjustment could have been shorter. The league’s best teams have raced away into the lead. The only way the Indiana Fever can expect to win home court advantage is to rise up the standings.

One of the ways the Fever can start to win games is if they allow Caitlin Clark to be herself. Her former head coach at Iowa, Lisa Bluder, had talked about giving the superstar guard free rein. Trying to stifle her natural competitiveness will be detrimental.

After the events in the game against the Connecticut Sun, Clark looks somber. She does not have the same spark in her attitude and is slouching around during the game. If not directly, but indirectly, it might have contributed to her horrifying shooting woes from three.

If anything, the Indiana Fever front office and coaching staff need to rethink their strategy. A team might look great on paper, but unless the players mesh with each other, it will not work. More importantly, they need to let their most important player have her way.

If it leads to a lot of technical fouls and scuffles, so be it. The Iowa native is a major trash talker and feeds off it to get going in games. Clamping down on that behavior or taking away her comfort zone might not be the best way to unlock her true potential.

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