The Indiana Fever already have their stars and franchise players. Aliyah Boston is on her way to becoming one of the best bigs in the game, and Caitlin Clark has already staked her claim as one of the faces of the league. What the Fever need now is role players and perhaps another, more experienced star to put around Boston and Clark.
They may not have a lottery pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft but will still pick relatively high at number eight and can benefit from the lottery result.
The four teams in the lottery are the Los Angeles Sparks, the Dallas Wings, the Chicago Sky, and the Washington Mystics. Los Angeles has the best odds to win the lottery with Dallas right behind. The Wings can also swap picks with the Sky due to a past trade.
Dallas is the team the Fever should keep an eye on in the draft lottery. Rumors and speculations have been connecting the Fever to Wings forward Satou Sabally for a while now. Sabally will be an unrestricted free agent and might want to leave Dallas.
She would be a great fit in Indiana as a forward who can space the floor and defend. The Wings can still core her, though. So, the most likely way for Sabally to leave Dallas is that the Wings will core and then trade her. That way, they won’t have to let her go for nothing. Depending on who they land in the draft, the Wings might be more willing to part ways with Sabally.
The Fever should hope for the Wings to draft Kiki Iriafen
If the Wings win the draft lottery, they will surely pick Page Bueckers. She is the consensus number-one pick, the Wings could use another high-level guard, and they do not want to miss out on someone with Bueckers’ star potential. In that case, the Wings may be less inclined to move on from Sabally, and Sabally may even want to stay.
Her, Bueckers, and Arike Ogunbowale would make for an intriguing trio that could reignite the Wings’ playoff potential.
So, what the Fever should hope for is that the Wings do not win the number-one pick. After Bueckers, the most intriguing prospect in the draft is Kiki Iriafen.
Iriafen was the Pac-12 Most Improved Player last season after dramatically improving her production and averaging a double-double with 19.4 points and 11 rebounds. She is a great prospect at the forward spot, especially for a team that might have to replace two key forwards. Natasha Howard has already made it rather clear that she does not want to return to Dallas, and Sabally also seems inclined to find a new team if possible.
Drafting Iriafen would soften the blow of losing someone like Sabally and open the door for the Fever to land a third star while Clark and Boston are still on their rookie contracts.
The top of the draft order will be decided on November 17 and could give Fever fans something to cheer about.