With ongoing CBA negotiations, the Indiana Fever is evaluating how to retain its core. At the same time, five Fever players are gearing up to compete in the highly anticipated Season 2 of Unrivaled. While Caitlin Clark won’t be suiting up, that hasn’t stopped her from celebrating.

When her teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, announced her new move, CC was among the first to show support. As Mitchell is making her Unrivaled debut with the league’s newest teams, Hive BC, she shared several photos of herself in the new jersey.

“Eyes open. Mouth closed,” Mitchell captioned her post. Her Indiana Fever teammates, including Clark, didn’t take long to jump into the comments. “Let’s go kels!!!!!!” Caitlin Clark commented. 

Well, all this excitement from her teammates, like Clark, Lexie Hull, and Sophie Cunningham, isn't surprising. With CC limited to just 13 games this season, Mitchell carried the offensive load and drove the team forward.

Kelset Mitchell finished the season as the league’s second-leading scorer with 890 points. She averaged 20.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, numbers that helped fuel the Fever to their first playoff series win in a decade.

Now, in Unrivaled, she will share the court with Sonia Citron, Ezi Magbegor, Natisha Hiedeman, Mo Billings, and Saniya Rivers under Coach Rena Wakama. Alongside Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Aliyah Boston, Makayla Timpson, and Aari McDonald are also competing in the new 3-by-3 league. 

However, with the CBA pending and a draft expansion on the horizon, one question looms large.

What’s next for the Indiana Fever? 

The Indiana Fever currently has three players on rookie contracts: Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Makayla Timpson. Everyone else is set to become an unrestricted free agent. As of now, the future contracts and salary decisions will depend heavily on the new CBA.

But a deal still isn’t in sight. Even the players' union has already warned of a potential strike. And to add another layer, Mitchell recently shared a post on social media.

“pay = play, no pay = no play. Only one motto over these waters. 😂🫠” wrote Caitlin Clark's teammate. With that, she made it clear that Mitchell is on the same boat as all the WNBA players demanding better from the league.

However, with the CBA deadline on January 9, we may not have to wait too long to find out if the Fever's current roster will remain intact.

Written by

Yashika Dutta

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi