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Indiana Fever Facing Backlash After DeWanna Bonner News originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Indiana Fever went big in the offseason, but one of their main investments is losing value according to a bombshell report on Tuesday.
After back-to-back No. 1 draft picks Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston led Indiana to a playoff berth in 2024, the organization did everything in its power to build a championship contender with its young stars still on rookie contracts.
The Fever hired a new president (Amber Cox), new general manager (Kelly Krauskopf) and a new head coach (Stephanie White).
They signed Kelsey Mitchell to a supermax contract worth $249,244 this season and brought in WNBA veterans DeWanna Bonner and Natasha Howard on one-year deals both worth at least $200,000.
Now, Bonner wants out, and fans were quick to direct their ire at the Fever decision makers when the news broke on Tuesday.
“This front office has done a worse job than Linn Dunn,” said one X user, pointing to the previous regime in Indiana.
“Fever wasted 200k smh,” another complained.
Bonner, who has scored the third-most points in WNBA history, has been away from the team, missing the last four games due to “personal reasons.” Lack of playing time and a bad “fit” were cited as reasons for Bonner wanting out in Front Office Sports’ report.
She has played in nine games this season for the Fever, averaging a career-low 7.1 points per game.
“Fever’s big offseason looking worse and worse by the day,” said a fan. “Bonner about to be gone, Howard has been a bad fit, picking (Damiris) Dantas over Temi (Fagbenle). Not great.”
Howard is averaging 11.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, her worst output since the 2020 season. The money tied up in Howard, Bonner and Mitchell left the Fever stuck with 11 players to start the season, one below the full roster allowance.
The lack of depth in the frontcourt looks particularly glaring with Bonner possibly on the way out and Dantas set to be with the Brazil national team for the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025 from June 28 to July 6.
While their offseason efforts were admirable, things simply have not worked out for the Fever, who sport a 6-7 record entering the game against the Storm.
“The Fever offseason was a disaster,” summed up a critic on social media. “We really did not sign one good player. How do you go 0%?”
Related: Caitlin Clark Sends Clear Message on Indiana Fever After Loss to Aces
Related: Sophie Cunningham’s Outfit Makes Statement on Sunday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
