The Indiana Fever's busy offseason continued Sunday, when the organization agreed to a deal with six-time All-Star DeWanna Bonner, according to Alexa Philippou. Bonner joins Natasha Howard and Sophie Cunningham as key offseason additions for the Fever, who are wasting no time in building around Caitlin Clark.
Bonner's decision to leave the Sun is not surprising given the mass exodus from Connecticut earlier this offseason. However, the general expectation was that Bonner would essentially be a package deal with her fiancée, Alyssa Thomas. That likelihood only seemed to increase when Thomas was traded to the Mercury, where Bonner spent the first 11 seasons of her career.
Instead, Bonner decided to sign with the Fever for a chance to play with Clark and reunite with former Sun coach Stephanie White.
Bonner, now 37, has been one of the most consistent, versatile and durable players in the league for well over a decade. Aside from sitting out the 2017 season while on maternity leave, she has only missed eight total games due to injury or illness since she was drafted with the No. 5 pick back in 2009, and has averaged double figures in scoring every season of her career.
Last season, Bonner once again played all 40 games and averaged 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.2 steals in 31.8 minutes. It's understandable to have some questions about how long Bonner can keep doing this, but she showed no signs of slowing down last summer and will no longer have to carry as big of a burden as she did with the Sun.
Earlier this offseason, Fever general manager Amber Cox, who worked with the Mercury when they drafted Bonner and was later the Sun's vice president when the team traded for Bonner, said the Fever were targeting "3-and-D" type players.
That's exactly what they got with Bonner, who is still a high-level defender and dogged competitor on that side of the ball. She can guard multiple positions and will immediately improve the Fever's defense, which ranked 11th in the league last season (107.5 defensive rating).
As a shooter, Bonner has always been streaky, but is willing to let it fly, which will help space the floor for Clark and Co. And while she made just 29.4% of her overall attempts last season, she was at 36.8% on open catch-and-shoot opportunities, per Synergy Sports, and she'll get plenty of those in Indiana.
After making the playoffs last season for the first time since 2016, the Fever were not content on a gradual improvement plan. They want to contend for a title as soon as possible, and have moved boldly this winter to try and jump into the mix.
