The lights of Gainbridge Fieldhouse had barely cooled when the reality of the offseason began to settle over Indianapolis. For the Indiana Fever—a team that clawed their way to the WNBA semifinals despite injuries, doubt, and youth—the echoes of their near-miss still hang in the rafters. The Aces ended their dream in five games, but the Fever left a mark: a young, dangerous team with a pulse, and a future that suddenly looks uncertain.

Now, as the 2026 season approaches, four Fever players are staring down an unclear horizon. Sydney Colson, Odyssey Sims, Bannon Turner, and Brie Hall—all unrestricted free agents—have packed their bags for Nashville, where they’ll spend the winter under the bright lights of the Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball League (AU Pro). It’s a move that buys time, keeps them sharp, and maybe, just maybe, opens the door to new beginnings far from Indiana.

For Fever fans, that thought stings.

Because while Caitlin Clark’s arrival brought the franchise into a new orbit, the pieces that held this roster together—Aaliyah Boston’s interior dominance, Kelsey Mitchell’s steady fire, Lexie Hull’s toughness, Sophie Cunningham’s grit—now face the kind of offseason turbulence that can shake even the most promising foundation.

“It’s looking real spooky,” one insider put it bluntly.

The Fever have cap space, yes. They have flexibility. But they also have decisions to make—hard ones. Do they double down on the core that got them to the doorstep of the Finals, or do they chase the kind of superstars who might push them through it?

The Free Agent Dominoes

The first domino fell quietly: reports that the Dallas Wings were targeting Kelsey Mitchell surfaced late Friday evening. Yahoo Sports confirmed the interest, setting off a flurry of speculation around one of the WNBA’s most loyal veterans. Mitchell has been the heart of Indiana’s rebuild, a scorer who endured the losing seasons before the glow-up. If she walks, it’s not just a talent loss—it’s an identity fracture.

Behind her, the role players who’ve given Indiana its backbone are heading to different corners of the basketball world. Colson, Sims, Turner, and Hall will compete in Athletes Unlimited, a unique, player-led league that flips the structure of basketball on its head. There are no franchises, no fixed teams, no playoffs. Instead, rosters shuffle weekly, and individual points determine who’s crowned champion. It’s democracy meets chaos—a system that rewards adaptability and consistency over brand loyalty.

Last season, Dallas Wings forward Maddie Siegrist won it all, racking up over 7,000 points in 12 games. Odyssey Sims wasn’t far behind. Now, she returns with three Fever teammates for AU’s fifth season, running from February 4 to March 1 in Nashville.

The timing is strategic. AU’s window overlaps perfectly with WNBA free agency—scheduled to open February 4—but the league’s ongoing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) discussions have frozen movement. No signings, no trades, no official deals until the ink dries.

That’s left the entire league in limbo.

The WNBA’s current CBA, signed in 2020, gave players a pay bump and better maternity protections, but the new generation—Clark, Boston, Reese—has reignited conversations about equity and visibility. The players want more revenue sharing, better travel conditions, and larger salary caps. The owners, wary of economic strain, are pushing back.

Insiders believe an extension, not a lockout, is the likely outcome. A stopgap measure that lets the 2026 season proceed while negotiations continue in the background. But until that happens, every free agent—Indiana’s included—is caught in a holding pattern.

Stephanie White and the System Dilemma

Then there’s Stephanie White.

White’s offense has been both her gift and her glass ceiling. Her motion-heavy, perimeter-driven system helped the Fever survive injuries and maximize role players. But in two different stops—first in Connecticut, now in Indiana—it has faltered under playoff pressure.

“It’s only good enough to get you to the semifinals,” a local analyst said bluntly. “Not over the hump.”

It’s not a criticism of White’s intelligence; it’s a question of evolution. With Clark at the helm and Boston anchoring the paint, the Fever have the personnel to play modern basketball—high tempo, space-and-pace offense—but lack the layered unpredictability of championship systems. Unless White adapts, the franchise risks another year of near-misses.

Still, the players believe in her. The locker room is unified, competitive, even playful. They remember what it was like to be the laughingstock of the league. That chip hasn’t left their shoulders.

Overseas Hustle and Offseason Survival

For most of the Fever, the offseason means work.

Aaliyah Boston and Lexie Hull are set to compete in Unrivaled, a Miami-based three-on-three league entering its second season. Co-founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart, Unrivaled is smaller, flashier, and built for social media. Games are streamed with cinematic production, rosters loaded with All-Stars, and every dribble seems designed for a highlight reel.

Boston thrives in systems like that—fast, instinctive, intuitive basketball. But Clark won’t be joining. Once again, the Fever’s generational rookie will spend her offseason training privately, recharging after a historic but exhausting debut campaign.

It’s a modern reality for WNBA players: juggling multiple leagues, managing bodies and brands, chasing both development and income. The AU Pro League pays well for its short run—bonuses tied to individual performance rather than team contracts. It’s why so many veterans opt in. For those without guaranteed deals, it’s survival.

And for the Fever’s four free agents, it’s visibility. Every possession in Nashville doubles as an audition for May.

Cap Space, Hope, and a Fragile Future

Indiana’s front office has room to maneuver. With several contracts expiring and a handful of team options pending, they could chase an elite shooter to pair with Clark or a veteran defender to balance Boston’s load. But that requires clarity on who’s staying.

If they lose even one of their big four—Clark, Boston, Mitchell, or Cunningham—it changes everything. Chemistry evaporates, and the Fever start from scratch.

Still, optimism persists in Indianapolis. The Fever were written off last spring as too young, too untested. Yet they fought their way through adversity and into a five-game war with the defending champions. They found something real in the process—a blueprint, a heartbeat.

Now, the task is preservation.

The WNBA is growing fast, perhaps faster than its infrastructure can handle. New leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited are redefining offseason play, and new media deals are flooding the game with attention and scrutiny. The Fever, like every franchise, are learning to adapt.

In the end, Indiana’s story is about more than contracts or coaching systems. It’s about the delicate balance between loyalty and ambition, between what’s working and what could work better.

When the next season tips off in May—assuming the CBA extension lands in time—the Fever could look very different. Or they could look exactly the same: young, unpolished, fearless, and chasing a dream that feels just within reach.

Either way, the league is watching. And for the first time in a long time, so is the world.