It seems like forever ago when the Indiana Fever were hoisting up the championship trophy in 2012. Tamika Catchings won Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP that year and was the face of the franchise. The Fever strayed from its championship culture over the next ten years and are slowly working their way out of WNBA purgatory. They went 5-31 last season and find themselves in the lottery once again.

While only winning 17 games since the 2020 season, the Fever started a rebuild last year that netted them high quality rookies NaLyssa Smith, Emily Engstler, Queen Egbo and Destini Henderson. Lexie Hull, a surprise pick at No. 6 in the 2022 draft, will also look to improve in year two. Around them is Kelsey Mitchell, who would be named an all-star if she played on a team the media would be interested in writing about.

The Fever find themselves in position to maximize their latest rebuild and hired Christie Sides to lead the way. She comes in with WNBA experience as an assistant coach with the Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream. It'll be her job to stabilize a team that has had little stability over the last ten years. Here's what Sides needs to do to get the franchise back on the right track.

Instill a strong defensive identity

There's a reason why Indiana's general manager Lin Dunn has said building a strong defensive unit is the top priority for the franchise. Since Catchings left after the 2016 season, the Fever have ranked in the bottom two in defensive efficiency. That won't due as the team tries to take its next step.

This is where Sides comes in. Atlanta's defense was one of the toughest defensive teams in the WNBA last year. Sides' track record of building cohesive defensive units is what propelled her to landing the head coaching gig and she has a few pieces she can utilize. Queen Egbo showed she can be a bruising force in the paint while Mitchell's perimeter defense often goes unnoticed.

The Fever not only have a chance at the top pick this year, they also have the No. 7 pick which came from Dallas in a trade for former lottery selection Teaira McCowan. If they are unable to get the first pick (which will most likely be South Carolina's Aliyah Boston), there are a few options after her that should excite the Fever. The team has lacked wing depth for years and Maryland's Diamond Miller would fit in on day one. The 6-foot-3 guard out of Maryland is far from being a consolation prize and has the makeup to be a two-way impact player on both ends of the floor. She would give Sides a dynamic disruptor on the perimeter and relief to an Indiana front court that gave up the most points in the paint per game in 2022.

Prioritize young players' minutes over vets

The Indiana Fever are not going to win a WNBA championship in 2023. The roster is too young for them to be making a run at a title and even making the playoffs will be difficult. With that in mind, Sides should give her rookies more run than the veterans on the team who don't fit into the Fever's rebuilding period.

Point guard Danielle Robinson is set to make $155,000 in 2023 before becoming a free agent after next season. She should provide veteran leadership but she is in the way of Henderson and Hull from being able to get extended minutes. It might be wise to try and trade the veteran or swallow $155,000 in cap space, despite that being unideal. This is going to be a critical year for the Fever and Robinson's minutes should be distributed among the players that fit into the team's timeline.

Mitchell is another player who is overqualified to be on the Fever. There isn't a realistic trade that makes sense for Indiana to get rid of her but she does have two years left on her deal. There are plenty of teams who could use Mitchell's instant offense and the haul for a player of her caliber could be big. One case against trading Mitchell is the amount of draft picks the Fever have already. There are only so many roster spots in the WNBA and trading for more draft capital is borderline useless if a team can't keep all of its players.

Whatever the Fever end up doing, they will need to figure out how to balance the veterans' minutes with the rookies who need time on the floor to develop.