4. Indiana will strike out in free agency
In a sense, the Fever are the league’s most attractive free-agent destination. They play in front of packed crowds every night and feature the best young player in the game (
Caitlin Clark) as well as Aliyah Boston. However, that also means anyone who signs in Indiana will play a relatively limited role, particularly if
Kelsey Mitchell returns. Free agents aren’t typically looking to be the third option (at best).
There also isn’t a perfect fit for what the Fever require in this free agency class, unless they can trade for Sabally. She could toggle between playing the three and four, providing the necessary defense and spacing to surround Clark and Boston. It’s risky to trade for Sabally for one season, and talk around the league is that Indiana is not one of Sabally’s preferred markets. If I were in the Fever front office, I would still offer
Lexie Hull,
NaLyssa Smith and a pick for Sabally, but I would understand the reticence.
If Indiana can’t get Sabally, then Ogwumike,
Brionna Jones and
Natasha Howard are all less-than-ideal fits. Ogwumike is an excellent defender, but she has played at a more methodical pace for most of her career. Jones and Boston are somewhat duplicative, and Howard’s shooting has been theoretical since she left Seattle. The Fever have enough money to give out a one-year maximum contract, but the bet is that their targets will go elsewhere.
It is time to rebuild in Washington, so any useful veterans should be shipped off to playoff teams for whatever assets the Mystics can get in return. Stefanie Dolson is an obvious candidate for a trade, given Washington’s glut of young frontcourt players (
Aaliyah Edwards,
Emily Engstler,
Sika Koné and
Shakira Austin) who need playing time, not to mention any rookie bigs who might be selected at No. 4 or No. 6 in the upcoming draft.
Minnesota would be a good landing spot for Dolson, as the Lynx value spacing at the five (Dolson made 46.5 percent of her 3s last season) and need a bulkier backup center. It would require parting ways with a younger player like
Dorka Juhász or Jess Shepard, but Dolson would be worth it.
Originally, Sykes was the second veteran listed here, but she is tougher to trade because even a rebuilding team needs a viable lead guard, and the Mystics already lost
Julie Vanloo in the expansion draft. Samuelson is easier to plug-and-play on a playoff team as a career 39.7 percent 3-point shooter and a feisty defender. Though her sister Katie Lou is constantly touted as the 3-and-D wing, it might be a more accurate moniker for Karlie Samuelson. Nearly every playoff team could use the elder Samuelson sister. Phoenix would be my favorite fit, and
Atlanta could also desperately use a good shooter off the bench.
It is somewhat surprising that the
Chicago Sky didn’t extend a qualifying offer to Chennedy Carter, who was downright dazzling for stretches of the 2024 season. Even if they didn’t want to keep her, they could have extracted some value from another team in a trade. Now, she’s an unrestricted free agent. The only logic to Chicago’s decision is that there wasn’t meaningful interest in Carter (even then, take a second-rounder!) and that the locker room drama was too much to tolerate.
Despite her prodigious talent, Carter has now worn out her welcome in three franchises, and several others likely wouldn’t take the chance for fear of disrupting a winning culture. Golden State, however, needs to make a splash. With limited assets to trade for an established superstar, signing a free agent makes more sense for the Golden State Valkyries, and Carter fits right in. Their expansion draft selections are all capable role players, but none can take command of an offense like Carter. She is the scorer they need, not to mention a highlight machine who would generate interest. Worst-case scenario, if Carter acts out again, Golden State can simply cut her and look to the 2026 draft for its next chance at a star.
Alyssa Thomas spent much of 2024 (and has started 2025) not-so-subtly shading the amenities, or lack thereof, in Connecticut. Returning to the Sun after repeatedly falling short of a title, especially with a new unproven coach, seems unlikely.
But the Sun control Thomas’ rights because of the core designation, and it’s hard to find a spot that has the assets to trade for Thomas and the cap space to also sign her fiancé
DeWanna Bonner.
DiJonai Carrington is also a restricted free agent, but given that offer sheets for RFAs have to be at least two seasons, Carrington is more likely to stay in Connecticut and become a free agent in 2026.
The Sun had the second-best net rating in the league last season, and now they have a full offseason to integrate
Marina Mabrey. With the full starting lineup returning (give or take Bri Jones, who also seems like a good fit for the Valkyries), Connecticut has a high floor, and maybe that stability is enough to keep Thomas and Bonner before the fireworks in 2026.
SHES WELL AHEAD OF KA COPPER
