January 21 marks the day when WNBA teams and unrestricted free agents can begin to negotiate new contracts. February 1 is when these players can actually sign new deals with new teams.

Therefore, these next few weeks are about to get hectic in the women’s basketball world. And with the Indiana Fever’s impressive success and popularity increase last season, there’s a ton of attention on the offseason moves they’ll make.

But which available players are the best fits for Indiana? Who can propel them to being WNBA title contenders? In our opinion, it’s the five players (listed in order) below.

This one should come as no surprise. The Indiana Fever’s front office has made it clear that re-signing Mitchell (who has been with the team since 2018) is their top priority this offseason.

And for good reason. Mitchell and Caitlin Clark were arguably the WNBA’s best backcourt duo for the second half of the season and they appear to complement each other perfectly. Since Mitchell is an unrestricted free agent, the Fever are almost guaranteed to give her a core designation (barring a separate agreement between the parties). Thus, Mitchell would have to make it abundantly clear that she wants out of Indiana if they were to trade her.

Frankly, we don’t see that happening. We expect Indiana to get Mitchell re-signed early, which will then allow them to pursue one of the next four players on our list.

Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally made it overtly clear last week that she has played her final game with the franchise that drafted her with the No. 2 pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft.

The Fever’s most pressing need is a wing player who has length, is a good defender, and can score in multiple ways. Sabally checks all of those boxes and then some. Out of any available players, there’s arguably no better fit for the Fever (aside from Mitchell) than Sabally. We expect them to pursue her aggressively this offseason and seem to have a good shot at securing her. It would almost certainly have to happen via trade however, as the Wings have cored Sabally.

Everything we said about the Fever’s needs at the wing position in the Satou Sabally section also applies to DeWanna Bonner. Her impending free agency has gone relatively under the radar, but her skill set is a solid fit for the Fever on paper.

The only clear downside is that she’s 37 years old, and likely only has a couple of seasons left. However, she might see Indiana as the perfect place to make one last run at a third WNBA championship. There’s also a connection with Fever coach Stephanie White, who likely could have insight into the desires of the Connecticut Sun’s numerous free agents.

Another underrated wing on the WNBA free agency radar is Dallas Wings standout Natasha Howard. One downside to Howard’s game is that she isn’t a great three-point shooter. But she is a lockdown defender and can score in enough ways to take the scoring load off of Clark and company when the need to do so arises. The Fever lacked on the defensive side of the ball a season ago and Howard could help alleviate that issue.

Plum coming to Indiana might be a longshot, and there’s virtually a zero percent chance the Fever would pursue her if they re-signed Kelsey Mitchell. But if Mitchell ends up elsewhere, they could do much worse than bringing Plum on board.

Plum’s versatile scoring ability would surely be enhanced when she’s receiving passes from Caitlin Clark. Given that she’s one of the league’s biggest superstars, her profile would be heightened even more so playing alongside Clark.

If Plum does indeed want out of the Las Vegas Aces (which would be via sign-and-trade given her core designation), the Fever could very well come calling as a contingency plan.

Some believe that an excellent offseason for the Fever could turn them into 2025 WNBA Championship contenders. But what does an “excellent” offseason look like? We’d argue that it means signing two of these players, with one of them ideally being Kelsey Mitchell and the other being one of the three wings mentioned.

What’s for sure is that the decisions Indiana’s front office makes in the next month or so will be crucial for their future success.

Associated Press

Indiana Pacers (22-19, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Detroit Pistons (21-19, eighth in the Eastern Conference)

Detroit; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Indiana visits Detroit looking to extend its four-game road winning streak.

The Pistons are 15-14 against Eastern Conference opponents. Detroit is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 33.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Jalen Duren averaging 6.2.

The Pacers are 4-4 against Central Division teams. Indiana is 11-11 in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Pistons are shooting 46.9% from the field this season, 0.4 percentage points lower than the 47.3% the Pacers allow to opponents. The Pacers are shooting 48.9% from the field, 2.0% higher than the 46.9% the Pistons’ opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tobias Harris is averaging 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Pistons.

Tyrese Haliburton is averaging 18.1 points and 8.8 assists for the Pacers.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pistons: 8-2, averaging 113.9 points, 44.4 rebounds, 25.9 assists, 8.7 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.5 points per game.

Pacers: 7-3, averaging 116.9 points, 44.1 rebounds, 29.6 assists, 8.3 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.7 points.

INJURIES: Pistons: Jaden Ivey: out (leg).

Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton: day to day (hamstring), Aaron Nesmith: out (ankle), Isaiah Jackson: out for season (calf), James Wiseman: out for season (calf).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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