It’s crisis mode in Indiana. They have lost three of their best players to injuries within a matter of two games. First was Caitlin Clark, whose body took a toll after playing every professional game over the last five years, with four being in college and one being in the WNBA. Then they lost Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham within minutes as Colson went down with a leg injury while Cunningham’s ankle injury from preseason flared after making contact with Sun guard Jacy Sheldon.

That loss against Sun was so much worse than just the points on the table, as they now have no active point guards. Clark was their primary, with Colson being the backup. Cunningham was the backup to the backup, as she was experimented with as a point guard in the preseason game against the Mystics. She actually did well in that game and was playing at a point in the game against Sun until she too got injured. 

Now the Fever management has revealed that they will try to reinforce this broken roster with some reinforcements at point guard. She told the reporter, “We are down in numbers, but we are looking at adding another player, a replacement player, to help us with our numbers and try to get people healthy, try to get a full roster back together.” The reporter asked if the team had aimed to acquire the player ahead of their matchup with the Washington Mystics on Tuesday, and the president confirmed with “We are hoping, yeah.”

There are only eight currently healthy players remaining on the roster. The Fever could become eligible to apply for an emergency hardship contract—a short-term roster exemption that would allow the team to sign additional help if the injuries to both players turn out to be long-term. There is still no official update on the extent to which Colson and Cunningham are injured, but this statement suggests that at least one of them has a long-term injury. 

According to HerHoopStats, at the discretion of the league team is allowed to sign as many players as needed to fill a ten-player roster under an emergency hardship contract. Once approved by the league, the team can sign a replacement player. It is a temporary contract, which should be terminated as the injured players return to play, to remain at ten players until at least ten non-replacement players are available.

Who are the options for the Indiana Fever?

The Fever will now dip into the free agent market for their replacements as they look to fill the point guard position. Stephanie White needs urgent help or this season is at risk of cascading to failure. They have lost three consecutive games, and they could have won all three. They will need to come back stronger against the Mystics on Tuesday, but who can they actually sign right now? 

The first look will be given to the players they waived during the training camp. Grace Berger is one of the most promising players that the Fever waived in the offseason. She becomes an option. She was selected by the Fever with the No. 7 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. Over two seasons in Indiana, Berger totaled 48 games played while averaging 13.3 minutes and getting 3.9 points and 1.9 assists per game during that period. Playing abroad for Ormanspor in Turkey, she averaged 13.1 points and 3.7 assists last season. She is one of the budding talents even fans want as a replacement. 

Another way to go would be Chennedy Carter, who is currently playing for Adelitas de Chihuahua in Mexico. She was popularly involved in an incident involving Clark last year, so there might be some friction there, but her ability on the court can bring some change in the Fever’s performance. She averaged 17.5 points and 3.1 assists per game for Chicago last year. Her three years in the WNBA will be useful for the Fever in this current state. Her off-the-field behavior remains in question. 

Another option would be Destanni Henderson, who is currently playing at Danilo’s Pizza of the Turkish Super League. She played in Indiana in 2022, when she averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 assists per game while playing for 16.4 minutes per game. Since then, she has evolved with stints at Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Atlanta, where she did not get considerable playing time. She is averaging 18.5 points and 7.2 assists per game in Turkey, so the potential is there. 

Either way, the management and Coach White currently have their hands full of problems. Whoever the replacement might be should quickly integrate into the team and provide instant results. There is no time to gauge and build chemistry. Clark will be helping the new recruit with how to implement her role on the court while she recovers from her injury.