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Indiana Fever May Have To Make Roster Move Amid Unfortunate Situation

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 9:56 PM ET

Upon Caitlin Clark's return from a quad strain, the Indiana Fever had one two straight games, getting back over .500.

However, that all came crashing down after the Fever fell to the Golden State Valkyries 88-77 on Thursday night, moving Indiana back to .500.

Since returning both Clark and Sophie Cunningham, the Fever have been without All-Star forward DeWanna Bonner for the last three games due to personal reasons.

In fact, she is not with the team on their current West Coast road trip and is expected to miss the game against the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday. This brings Indiana's available roster down to 10 players.

But the Fever will be losing another forward soon. Following the final game of the road trip on Tuesday against the Seattle Storm, Damiris Dantas will be leaving the team for the following five contests. She will be playing in the FIBA AmeriCup with the Brazil National Team between June 25 and July 8.

If Dantas does happen to leave while Bonner is still out, the Fever would be down two forwards and to a total of nine players. This could, according to Indy Star's Chloe Peterson, lead to Indiana signing a forward via emergency hardship exception, which "allows any team to sign a player, with immediate effect, if a team drops below 10 game-eligible players at any time."

DeWanna Bonner is still out for personal reasons with “no timeline” for her return.

Damiris Dantas is also leaving the team from June 25-July 8, which could put the Fever down to nine available players.

I looked into if they could use a hardship:https://t.co/OGJDtPdr7X
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 21, 2025

This would not be the first time the Fever have used an emergency hardship exception this season. When Clark and Cunningham (right ankle) were recovering from injuries, Indiana signed guard Aari McDonald via emergency hardship exception.

McDonald played three games for the Fever and filled in nicely, averaging 11.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per game. But when the two guards returned, Indiana had to let McDonald go.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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