With the 2025 WNBA trade deadline quickly approaching, the Indiana Fever need to prepare their roster for their playoff run. After entering the year with legitimate title aspirations, the Fever are on track to participate in their second consecutive postseason in just over one month.
The Fever's season has not gone according to plan thus far, with Caitlin Clark fluctuating in and out of the lineup and free agent acquisition DeWanna Bonner functionally quitting on the team. Indiana remains in a prime position to end the year on a high note, but a few roster adjustments are more than necessary.
Unlike the NBA, the WNBA trade deadline is not as chaotic and league-altering. Yet, if there is one team in the league poised to execute a blockbuster deal, it is the Fever. Of the teams whose rosters desperately need significant help, Indiana is the one in the best position to still make some noise to end the regular season.
Regardless of what happens moving forward, the Fever desperately need Clark back on the court. She might not yet be the league's MVP, but there are few players in the league more valuable to a team than Clark is to Indiana. However, the Fever can help her make a push upon her return by making the right moves at the 2025 WNBA trade deadline.
SG/SF Tiffany Hayes
When the Fever signed Bonner, they imagined her being a veteran scorer to pair with Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. Bonner, 37, signed a one-year deal in free agency. Despite her advanced age, there were few concerns about her impact on the team, as she joined Indiana after averaging 15.0 points per game with the Connecticut Sun in 2024.
Bonner was the team's biggest signing in free agency, but her brief tenure could not have gone much worse. The versatile scorer looked nothing like a six-time All-Star in most of her outings, averaging just 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in nine games with the team before packing it in. After being away from the team for roughly one week, Bonner was finally released just before the Fever won the 2025 Commissioner's Cup.
Bonner was not the answer, but the Fever had the right idea by signing her. Adding a veteran wing scorer, particularly one who would be effective off the bench, is one of the top missing pieces this team needs. Tiffany Hayes, who is currently averaging 12.7 points per game with the Golden State Valkyries, could be Indiana's perfect fit.
Before joining the Valkyries, Hayes thrived in a sixth-player role with the Las Vegas Aces, who were then gunning for their third consecutive WNBA title. She averaged just 9.5 points per game in 2024, her fewest since her rookie season, but was instrumental all year long as a leader and quick bucket-getter off the bench.
Hayes might be enjoying her current life with the Valkyries, but Golden State would accept the right offer. They might be stingy with Hayes, but they have no shortage of guards to afford losing her, particularly with Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen emerging as solid pieces in Natalie Nakase's rotation.
PF/C Aaliyah Edwards
Besides a veteran sixth player scorer, the Fever need to add size to their roster at the 2025 WNBA trade deadline. As good as Aliyah Boston is, there is a noticeable drop-off once the three-time All-Star steps off the court for Damiris Dantas. Indiana needs to add an athletic, physical paint presence who can anchor the second-team defense behind Boston.
Boston's namesake, Aaliyah Edwards, might be the ideal player to round out the Fever's rotation. Not only is Edwards a gritty defender and physical rebounder, but she also brings the type of energy Indiana needs every second of her 20 minutes per game.
Edwards, a former first-round pick, used to be the budding young talent of the Washington Mystics' frontcourt. But injuries slowed her down, and the subsequent rise of Kiki Iriafen has turned her into an afterthought in the team's rotation. It is not that Washington would not want to keep Edwards, but Iriafen's quick ascent will force them to move her sooner rather than later.
Edwards is averaging only 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.3 blocks per game in 2025 — a decrease across the board from her rookie season. Yet, with Iriafen fitting in better with Shakira Austin in the starting lineup, the minutes have just not been there for Edwards. The UConn alum is averaging just 14.3 minutes per night after playing 21.8 minutes as a rookie.
Even if she joins the Fever, Edwards might not be able to climb her way back into the starting lineup. However, she would be able to provide all the defensive energy that Dantas lacks, while simultaneously being a better pick-and-roll threat with Indiana's playmakers. Whenever Stephanie White turns to her two-big lineup, Edwards would be a much better fit alongside Boston than any of the team's current options are.
C Brittney Griner
For the same reasons that the Fever need to consider sending in an offer for Edwards, they also need to monitor Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner. Although not the same type of defender that Edwards is at this point in her career, Griner is a much bigger offensive threat.
Griner's 12th WNBA season has not been particularly successful. Her numbers are career-lows across the board, averaging 10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game through her first 25 outings of the year. She signed with the Dream with hopes of forming a tantalizing frontcourt duo with Brionna Jones, but has instead been more of a nuisance than an asset.
Griner's modest numbers could be a product of her decline — she turns 35 in October — but the fit does not seem right in Atlanta. Jones and Griner are both paint-oriented centers who want space to post up on the block but cannot get out of each other's way. The Dream's offense operates much more fluidly with Naz Hillmon on the court, likely making the inefficient Griner a top trade candidate at the 2025 WNBA trade deadline.
While she might not be a fit with the Dream, Griner might rediscover her rhythm with the Fever. Although Boston is another paint-oriented center, the 23-year-old has made monumental strides with her playmaking at the high post in 2025. Boston is still one of the best players in the league down low, but she has discovered her new affinity for her mid-range game, both as a scorer and a facilitator.
A hypothetical Boston-Griner pairing would not be flawless, but at this point, anything would seem like an upgrade for Griner. The 10-time All-Star might not be the defender she once was, but Griner is still a superb shot blocker and has thrived with elite pick-and-roll playmakers like Clark before.
