With new head coach Stephanie White at the helm, the Indiana Fever are looking for a successful campaign next WNBA season, but they face uncertainty as key player Kelsey Mitchell approaches free agency. New president Kelly Krauskopf expressed the team’s commitment to re-signing her.
“She’s our number one priority,” Krauskopf said of Mitchell on a November 13 episode of the “Locked on Women’s Basketball” podcast with Howard Megdal. “Yes, we have the opportunity to core her. And it would be sort of irresponsible for me if we didn’t utilize that opportunity,” she added.
The ‘core’ player designation, similar to the NFL’s franchise tag, allows a team to protect one unrestricted free agent per offseason. This gives the team exclusive negotiating rights with the player, who receives a one-year, super-max offer. Since Mitchell agreed to an extension with the Indiana Fever in 2021, she has not yet been designated as ‘core.’ However, it’s important to note that a player can only be ‘cored’ a maximum of two times.
“I think honestly, most players who were unrestricted free agents are most likely looking at one-year deals,” explained Krauskopf. “So that’s not unusual, and it certainly doesn’t change our opinion of how important Kelsey is, and how important she is to returning to this team,” she added.
Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark of Indiana Fever talk to each other during the first half against the Dallas Wings (Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Mitchell has spent all seven years of her career with the Fever. This past season, she had one of her best performances, averaging 19.2 points per game. She finished as the team’s second-leading scorer with 767 points, trailing only teammate Caitlin Clark, to whom Mitchell recently expressed her admiration in a heartfelt message.
Mitchell has opened up about her future
While Mitchell is currently playing for the Shanxi Flame in China for the offseason, she wrote in her recent The Player’s Tribune column that she doesn’t know where she will play next season in the WNBA.
“And it’s hard to know what the future holds,” Mitchell wrote. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what colors I’ll be wearing next year, which just makes me cherish this season and our group even more,” she said.
The 28-year-old player endured a difficult 2024 due to the loss of her father, Mark Mitchell. This devastating loss, as she has explained, will make her consider all her options. However, Fever leadership and fans remain hopeful that she will stay with the team for at least one more year. After all, as Mitchell herself has expressed, the franchise has been her home.
