WNBA Community Probes Indiana Fever for Waiving DeWanna Bonner After Failed Trade Talks

After wading through two weeks of murky waters, DeWanna Bonner and the Indiana Fever have finally parted ways. “Personal reasons” turned out to be Bonner’s dissatisfaction with her role in Indy, and after many failed trade attempts, they ended up deciding to waive her. At face value, it looks to be quite an amicable parting, but there might be something deeper brewing.

Even though Bonner’s parting statement seemed to be quite heartfelt, there were a few red flags. “I want to sincerely thank the Indiana Fever for the opportunity to be part of the Fever franchise. Despite our shared goals and excitement heading into the season, I felt the fit did not work out and I appreciate the organization’s willingness to move on, particularly at this point in my career,” she said via the Fever release. Her address made it clear that Stephanie White and DB weren’t on the same page about her role in Indiana.

On the surface, it makes a lot of sense! DeWanna Bonner is nearing the end of her career, or as she said to Romper last year, “The ball’s gonna stop bouncing one day.” The WNBA vet wants to be closer to her family, and according to the latest updates, is looking to reunite with her partner Alyssa Thomas, in Phoenix. A perfect end to a great career.

However, if it was such an amicable split, there wouldn’t have been complete radio silence since then, from both parties. On top of that, people started noticing the total absence of Indiana on DB’s socials long before any issues were anticipated, and Natasha Howard even unfollowed her!

According to avid watchers and fans, there is something much deeper at play here. This situation is first-of-a-kind for DeWanna Bonner, who has played out her entire career without much controversy. As this saga continues to unfold, questions arise, and doubts form. Let’s listen to the pulse of the fans and see what they have to say!

Fans react to the secrecy around DeWanna Bonner’s Fever exit

Okay, this situation becomes a lot more complex when we read between the lines. Right after the news of DeWanna Bonner being waived came out, starting forward Lexie Hull showed up to hoop in a “MRS. STEAL YO JOB” warmup shirt. Not to mention, the decorated vet just flat-out refused to suit up for five games without any explanation, and reports came out that she had ‘no interest in returning’ to the team.

Social media, as expected, went nuclear. Allegations, rumors, the whole nine yards were being thrown around by fans, and they weren’t holding back! “I knew Dewanna Bonner wasn’t f–king with CC and the fever she the OG and wanted to get treated like that her coming off the bench was crazy and they wasn’t passing her the ball in the game I seen it” A fan said on X, alleging that there was some bad blood between Caitlin Clark and DeWanna Bonner, and that the Fever organization didn’t show DB the respect she deserved.

Considering CC’s fame, acclaim, and role in the team, if there was a falling out between her and DB, we all know which way it would swing. Another fan, however, claimed that the Fever point guard had a much active role in Bonner’s departure. One fan commented: “Rumor has it @CaitlinClark22 demanded DB lose her starting spot.” This is just hearsay, and nothing has been verified. But regardless of who did what specifically, the end conclusion was the same for most fans…

Something definitely happened in the Fever locker room, prompting one fan’s response: “Yo deadass…..I truly want to know exactly WHY Dewanna Bonner doesn’t want to come back to the Fever. Understand this is a 15 year vet , one of the Greats in the WNBA without character flaw far as I know. She wouldn’t just up and leave. THERE IS A REASON. WE NEED TO KNOW WHY“. The desire to get to the root of this issue intense, for DB is, after all, the WNBA’s third highest scorer of all-time, and we’ve seen her dedication and commitment in the past.

And it was definitely a common perception that Indiana might have driven her out. Another fan chimed in: “Sounds like an internal issue… vets like that don’t crash out and give the team the middle finger unless something happened… can’t just be a playing time thing.“ And it makes a lot of sense, because DB knew what she was coming to do.

DeWanna Bonner was brought into this team to give it direction and use her diverse championship experience to develop culture. However, with career-low production, and now an abrupt departure, it seems like Stephanie White and Kelly Krauskopf’s plans have blown up in their face.

via Imago

The thirty-seven year old veteran can’t be faulted for opting out of this $200,000 situation, but the questions just don’t stop coming in this scenario! The biggest one so far, disregarding all of the rumors, is where exactly is she headed to? DB is currently on a waiver for 48 hours, in which any team can come in and pick her contract up. However, she has made it clear that no team should go after her during this period, as she wants to sign with the Phoenix Mercury.

Bonner fans seem to agree! “The culture at Phoenix and Dallas may be a better fit,” a fan said, and it’s true! Not only would DB fit better into the system in Phoenix, she would also be reunited with her partner Alyssa Thomas.

This saga is definitely nowhere near its end, as many questions still hang in the air. However, we do know that this split might end up working out best for both parties! It will be interesting to see where both DeWanna Bonner and the Indiana Fever go from here. Where will DB end up? And who can the Fever bring in to replace her? Only time will tell