Sue Bird Sends Decisive Indiana Fever Opinion After WNBA Free Agency Flurry
After what had initially appeared to be a quiet start to the WNBA's free agency negotiation period, the Indiana Fever made several moves to improve their roster over the past few weeks.
This includes re-signing Fever star Kelsey Mitchell, signing DeWanna Bonner, Natasha Howard, and Sydney Colson in free agency, and trading for Sophie Cunningham and Jaelyn Brown.
Multiple WNBA icons such as Candace Parker have praised Indiana's front office for this flurry of moves. The legendary Sue Bird is the most recent person to give the Fever their flowers for what has been an extremely successful offseason, which she did during a February 6 episode of the A Touch More podcast.
"I think everyone agrees [Indiana] has gone from a team that made the playoffs last year, lost in the first round, they were building all these young pieces (of course Caitlin Clark), to now an immediate contender with all the moves they've made," Bird said.
"I think Natasha Howard certainly stands out. I loved, loved, playing with Tash," she continued. "She is just this glue player that doesn't get enough shine for what she does, because a lot of what she does doesn't show up in the box score... and a player like that I think compliments what Indiana is building."
Bird then added, "They... added Sophie Cunningham, a player that... is also just tough. She's mentally tough, she's physically tough, she brings an edge to them. And then last but not least, they added DeWanna Bonner, which really I think is the one that for most people took it to another level.
"So now you're like 'Oh, they're a contender'. Now the expectations have changed, I'm sure the way they're approaching the season has changed."
Bird concluded with, "Having [Fever head coach] Stephanie White there, having already coached [DeWanna Bonner], really does help."
Sue Bird on the Indiana Fever being an immediate contender with Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham and Dewanna Bonner on the team.
— LEO (@the22_LEO) February 6, 2025
Full video: https://t.co/rmmy0CNfX0#WNBA#FeverRising pic.twitter.com/GipuzrZUHE
How quickly the Fever can find chemistry with all of these new pieces will be crucial for starting the 2025 season off strong.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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