The Indiana Fever have come to a crossroads. Stephanie White has been fired, which means franchise player Caitlin Clark will be entering her fourth season with her third coach. Clark teamed with former No. 1 overall pick Kelsey Mitchell to comprise the highest scoring backcourt in WNBA history.
The duo made 100-point games common during the 2026 season as they combined for 47 points per game. Recent reports suggest that Mitchell could be on her way out of town as well, as the nine-year Fever veteran enters her first unrestricted free agency after breaking the WNBA record for total points in a season with 1,034.
During her exit interview Mitchell mentioned that she “has to be selfish” when deciding her next destination. She also mentioned how hard it was to play alongside Clark’s fans who were erratic in their support of players who might compete for the spotlight with Caitlin.
It’s also been reported that Clark’s enforcer Sophie Cunningham, who made $600K this season in a reserve role, probably will move on as she doesn’t fit into the franchise’s future plans.
Cheryl Miller Implores Indiana To Re-Sign Kelsey Mitchell
During an episode of WNBA Showtime on Peacock, after the Indiana Fever were eliminated from the first round of the WNBA playoffs by the Aces, women’s hoops legend Cheryl Miller said the Indiana Fever should do everything in its power to keep Kelsey Mitchell. As great as Clark is developing, Mitchell, 30, is in her prime and Miller doesn’t feel that losing her to free agency is the answer to moving closer to getting Caitlin her first title.
“You better keep Kelsey Mitchell there. Otherwise, Indiana Fever, it’s a wrap for you,” Miller said.
Fans React To Possibility Of Kelsey Mitchell Leaving Indiana
“They literally got nowhere with her as the ‘bucket getter.’ They need to let her go and use the money to deepen the bench. Let Caitlin get her 30ppg and spread the rest out. Can’t have two ball dominant guards like that,” one user in favor of Mitchell leaving commented.
“First time I don’t agree with Cheryl. I don’t think you have to keep her especially if she doesn’t want to be there,” another fan added.
“It’s been a wrap since she’s been here ? we lost 3 straight play off series with her lol,” one netizen pushed back against Miller.
“Absurd,” one fan said on x. “let her go and see how well the team plays without her under a new coach and front office.”
Regardless of who the fans want to blame for the Fever’s failures during the Clark Era, Fever general manager and chief operating officer Amber Cox has her work cut out this offseason.
She’s got to take a botched situation and flip it upside down quickly.
First they have to admit to themselves that they totally botched Clark’s first three seasons in the league. From team construction, to coaching chemistry, to injuries that many feel could have been avoided by Fever medical staff and management, Clark’s playoff failures are an indication of improper team construction.
Her statistics (22.3 ppg, 8.3 apg) say that she’s a wizard with the pill, able to elevate teammates and score at a high volume from anywhere on the court. The winning results and performances are inconsistent, which leaves doubts about her true impact as a player on the court.
Clark vs. Every WNBA Coach She’s Had
To say the quiet part out loud, Clark has never philosophically agreed with any coach she has had. She publicly questioned her first head coach Christie Sides and together with the fans basically drove her out of town. The two-year relationship with Stehanie White has been tumultuous, with Clark constantly challenging White. The final blow to White’s tenure was when she and Clark disagreed about why the Fever struggled in their series against the Aces.
Clark attributed it to sloppy playcalling, while White shot back by mentioning the turnovers.
“I thought what we were running just wasn’t great. Nobody got an easier open look. I think it was a combination of both, but you’ve got to just keep shooting at this point in the year,” Clark said after the game.
White shined a light on Clark’s six turnovers.
“Yeah, I mean, 28 points off of turnovers. Your first line of transition defense is offensive execution. Tweny-eight points off of turnovers and 17 points on the free-throw line. Those are easy buckets. We didn’t do our job,” she said.
“And there’s no defense for 28 points off of turnovers. So we’ve got to be better screen setters. Our timing and our pace, because they’re going to force us to play in the half court, has to be better.”
Next indiana Fever Coach Has Hands Full
The next coach has to play ball with Clark, but there’s no guarantee that doing things her way will result in a championship.
It’s a mess in Indiana. If Mitchell leaves, which is highly probable, then the Fever have to find another dynamic guard to take pressure off of Clark and be able to score at a high rate. It won’t be easy.
When Clark fails there’s an avalanche of unhappy fans. The Fever don’t have to keep Mitchell, but when you have the most prolific scoring backcourt in history and one of the best centers ever, one would think that building strong pieces around them would get you one step closer to a championship.
