Clark, Boston and Mitchell named WNBA All-Stars: “The future looks bright”
On the Fever’s Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell being named WNBA All-Stars: “The future looks bright”
INDIANAPOLIS – Kelsey Mitchell has spent her entire professional career with the Indiana Fever.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, she has seen the franchise’s ups and downs — especially the downs. Mitchell signed a three-year extension in 2021 before the final year of her rookie contract that keeps her in Indiana, just two hours from her hometown, through the end of the 2024 season.
After having four different coaches in seven years and posting four single-digit win seasons, playing in the WNBA bubble in 2020 and playing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2021 and 2022 while the Fever underwent renovations, she is now starting to see the other side, with a sold-out Gainbridge Fieldhouse and a potential playoff berth for the first time in her career.
“Kelsey is a classic example of someone who’s been here six or seven years and has never been to the playoffs, and that’s tough when you’re going through losing seasons,” Fever general manager Lin Dunn said. “… she’s had a rough, rough time since she’s been here. Hopefully the last two years have shown her the direction we’re going in.”
Mitchell has been the Fever’s leading scorer over the past five seasons and is averaging 17.7 points per game this season – just behind Caitlin Clark’s 17.8. Mitchell’s 3,651 career points are second-best in franchise history (only Tamika Catchings has more, at 7,380). The two-time WNBA All-Star is a consistent, solid scorer, someone the Fever would like to keep.
Dunn stressed that she will work with Mitchell and her agents after the season, so it is unlikely that Mitchell will sign a contract extension during the season.
“When the season is over, we’ll sit down and talk about the future,” Dunn said. “You know, I want Kelsey to be happy and I want her to feel like she can accomplish all of her goals here, but that remains to be seen based on the experiences she’s had in the past.”
Mitchell said she has never been a free agent before and is excited to experience it for the first time.
“Those conversations have to happen and I’m going to do what’s best for me,” Mitchell said last week. “It’s always going to be a business, so I’m excited to explore free agency. I’ve never been a free agent in my professional career, so I’m excited to see where it goes.”
But in the complicated world of the WNBA offseason, Mitchell may still not get a chance to become a true free agent this season.
The Fever have the option to “gut” Mitchell, which is similar to a franchise tag in the NFL: They get exclusive negotiating rights for a departing player in exchange for a short-term, large contract.
After this season, Indiana could make Mitchell a core offer that would give the Fever exclusive negotiating rights in exchange for a one-year supermax salary of at least $241,984. Mitchell is making $212,000 this season, so that wouldn’t be too much of a jump for the franchise financially. The Fever could afford that raise under this year’s salary cap and will likely have even more wiggle room in the offseason with Erica Wheeler’s $202,154 coming off the books.
From there, Mitchell could negotiate a longer deal with the Fever or simply play under the core contract. Players can only stay under the core contract for a total of three seasons, regardless of which team they play on. If Mitchell were to negotiate a longer deal under the core contract, those seasons would count toward that time.
In one possible scenario specific to this offseason, the Fever might not even have a chance to trade Mitchell—she would have no other choice, either.
The league is introducing an expansion team, the Golden State Valkyries, in 2025, and with that comes an expansion draft. The WNBA has not officially announced the logistics, but previous expansion drafts have allowed new teams to select an unrestricted free agent and use him as their core. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the expansion draft for the Valkyries will take place in December, before the typical core period for other teams – for the 2024 season, teams had the opportunity to select a player between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15.
The last expansion draft was in 2008, when the Atlanta Dream joined the league. Each team could sign six players in that draft. The Dream then selected one player from each existing team, plus Betty Lennox, an unrestricted free agent from Seattle. The draft gave Atlanta exclusive negotiating rights, and the Storm had no chance to sign their departing player.
If the WNBA adopts similar rules for the upcoming draft, Mitchell could move to Golden State – whether she and the Fever like it or not.
Mitchell would likely be one of the top free agents in the 2025 WNBA free agency period after making back-to-back All-Star appearances. But according to Spotrac, other top players are also entering free agency, including reigning MVP Breanna Stewart, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner of Connecticut, Nneka Ogwumike of Seattle, Kelsey Plum of Las Vegas and Satou Sabally of Dallas.
There are many potential options for the Valkyries, but if the Fever want to keep their All-Star, they will have to agree to a contract extension before the end of the season. Then they could protect her in the upcoming Expansion Draft.
Mitchell could make it to free agency if neither the Fever nor the Valkyries sign her. At that point, Mitchell would likely consider offers from several teams on the open market, including the Fever.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
