Caitlin Clark discusses Fever offseason moves: 'it’s exactly what we needed'
The Indiana Fever star worked out with DeWanna Bonner, attended her press conference, then shared her thoughts on the team's productive offseason with one goal in mind.
As free-agent signing DeWanna Bonner and company sat down on a stage set up on the practice court, Caitlin Clark snuck in from the side and was there to support her newest teammate.
It was a stealth move by the All-WNBA guard, just like we often see on the hardwood.
Hours earlier, the duo was breaking a sweat together on the court for the first time as teammates. Bonner entered the league in 2009 and won a championship with the Phoenix Mercury as a rookie — against the Fever too — when Clark was just seven years old. They’re separated by 14 years and Bonner immediately adds wisdom, experience, and talent to the locker room.
Over the last few weeks, the Fever front office duo of president Kelly Krauskopf and GM Amber Cox has kept busy.
They’ve re-signed Kelsey Mitchell, signed Bonner, signed Natasha Howard, acquired Sophie Cunningham and Jaelyn Brown, and signed Sydney Colson. They also waived Grace Berger, Victoria Saxton, and Katie Lou Samuelson.
After the press conference for Bonner, Clark was made available to local reporters for a brief interview to share her thoughts on the team’s very active offseason.
“I think Kelly and Amber have done a really good job of finding pieces that fit,” she said. “It makes me excited about the future, obviously with Steph (White) and her staff coming in here and my ability to work out with Keith (Porter) all offseason has been really fun, but it's been fun.”
Clark elected not to play elsewhere in the offseason. She’s looking after herself — exactly what she should be doing after her past year in the spotlight, going straight from the national championship game to the WNBA season. Just last week, she was in at least four states, including a few days in New Orleans before the Super Bowl.
Clark has made Indy her home, has her own place and regularly works out at The Fieldhouses. She’s already looking forward to more teammates returning to Indy.
“I think it'll be a lot of fun to get in the gym and be with my teammates and just start putting the pieces together and see what works, what doesn't work,” she said. “We're gonna have a lot of different options to do a lot of different things and I think that's what's super exciting about it all.”
Options — something they lacked last season. Adding depth was a significant priority for the front office, along with experience and competitors.
Heading into Connecticut last September, none of the Fever’s five starters had ever played in a WNBA Playoff game. Meanwhile, Bonner has 87 games of experience.
“I don't know what the exact number was, but we really lacked in that area,” Clark agreed. “Just adding pieces, players that have been in this league, they know what it takes to win; they know what it takes to get to the finals; they know what it takes to win championships; I think it’s exactly what we needed in our locker room.
“So it's just exciting, but also like, they're not only really good basketball players, they're really great leaders and really great people. And I know the front office obviously really prioritized that and looking for the pieces that we wanted to add.”
In other words, it’s not just about adding pieces and talent. It’s about adding the right pieces to complete the puzzle — while also not being disruptive.
Both Bonner and Howard have played for multiple teams, they’ve won multiple championships, and they arrive to the franchise with a fresh perspective. And they know all eyes will be on them with this franchise.
“I think every person you ask in this league or past teammates that they've had, they only have good things to say about them,” Clark said of her new teammates. “That's the reason all the top teams were going after these type of players because they know the type of asset they are in the locker room, what type of player they are, but more so their leadership, their knowledge of the game, how hard they work, and those were the only people that we were gonna add to this. So, just really fortunate we've been able to get a lot of the pieces that we wanted.
“That just speaks to what we've been able to build here over the course of the last year, but also to the front office and what Steph's been able to do, but also to the players that have chosen to come here and are excited about it. And it speaks a lot to them too. They want to win and play in front of a lot of fans and it fires me up, honestly.”