When Caitlin Clark headed to the bench in pain in July last year, it felt like the Indiana Fever’s season had ended right there. But thanks to Fever’s willpower matched with Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston’s brilliance, and Stephanie White’s coaching, the team kept fighting. But after a heartbreaking exit, attention has already shifted to what’s next. With CBA negotiations casting uncertainty across the league, one WNBA insider suggests the Fever could face two major roster decisions that may define their offseason.

After Caitlin Clark’s injury, the Indiana Fever, otherwise known for their flashy and fast-paced style, had to make some adjustments. It wasn’t a complete overhaul, but certain parts of their game needed fine-tuning. Now that their injury-hit season is behind them, the Fever’s front office faces a new challenge of striking the right balance between maintaining the identity that took them within a game of the WNBA Finals and continuing to build the roster around their superstar, Caitlin Clark.

Breaking down this dilemma, WNBA insider Sabreena Merchant said, “The defensive identity they leaned into with Odyssey Sims, with the replacement players that they had to bring in like Aari McDonald and stuff, like that’s just a different team that the one with Caitlin Clark leading at point guard. So, it’s kind of like how do we build off of the success of last year, but also, get back to building a team around Caitlin?”

Before Clark’s injury, most of the Fever’s offense flowed through her. It wasn’t that they lacked teamwork, but Clark was naturally the primary initiator and playmaker. After she went down, things shifted. Mitchell, Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, and even Sophie all took turns to shoulder the responsibility. And as Fever prepares to bring back CC, Merchant highlighted one concern: “That’s honestly a big challenge for Amber Cox and Kelly Krauskopf, as they look forward to this next iteration of the Indiana Fever.”

Another thing that changed was their defensive intensity. Especially during the stage where Sophie Cunningham and Lexie Hull were both starting, the opponent’s guard had no moment of respite. And the results were there for everybody to see. The Indiana Fever were just a game, or rather, minutes away from the finals. Had Kelsey Mitchell not gotten injured or Aliyah Boston not fouled out with 26 seconds left in the regular time, the outcome might have changed.

Keeping all this in mind, the Indiana Fever front office needs to balance its roster for the 2026 season. Sure, their priority should be to sign players who complement Caitlin Clark’s skill sets, but they also need to take the lessons from the 2025 season and incorporate those elements in the planning as well.

How can the Indiana Fever improve its roster around Caitlin Clark?

While we know that the Indiana Fever, or any other team, can’t make any signings until the new CBA is finalized, the Fever can use this time to set its targets for the next season. Yes, there are a lot of uncertainties, but one thing is sure: the Indiana Fever will do whatever it can to bring back Kelsey Mitchell. The front office would not want to overpay her, but even if they have to, they can (at least for next year), as both Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston will be on their rookie contracts.

Their next priority should be to stock up on guards. CC is coming back, but if the officiating rules don’t change, we can expect another season of excessive pressure on her whenever she’s on the ball. Therefore, the Fever needs to add some more guards who can carry the ball. One option they should definitely explore is bringing back Aari McDonald. Signed as DeWanna Bonner’s replacement, Aari averaged 9.8 points and 4.7 assists. These numbers are extremely good, given that she was signed as a hardship player.

Another positive of bringing her back would be that she is already familiar with the Indiana Fever’s playbook, and there would be no adjustment period. The Fever should also try to bring back as much of the roster from the last season as they can. Locker room vibes are very important in professional sports. And if there’s anything that we learned about the Indiana Fever last season, it was that the team is very close and their ‘bench mob’ alongside the Gainbridge crowd can spoil the best of teams’ day.

It will not be easy since there will be a lot of offers being thrown around for them. And by all means, the players should (and would) entertain them all. But if the Fever can bring back most/all of those who were in this year’s roster, it will be a powerful message to the rest of the league. The final story will depend on the CBA outcome and the money left in hand.