Indiana Fever Trade Projected To Shake Up WNBA Expansion Draft

ESPN's Kevin Pelton pitched the idea in his mock WNBA Expansion Draft, explaining that the Fever may be the "most motivated team to get the Valkyries to take a particular player."

He suggests that Indiana could offer Golden State an improved 2026 WNBA Draft pick in exchange for agreeing to select Katie Lou Samuelson in Friday's Expansion Draft. 

The 27-year-old fell out of Christie Sides' rotation toward the end of the season, playing just five minutes total in the Fever's two playoff games. However, she is under contract for a team-high $180,250 salary in 2025.

If the Fever don't secure a deal beforehand, the team could be vulnerable to losing a valuable depth player on a better contract like Temi Fagbenle, Damiris Dantas or Grace Berger.

In Pelton's mock, this aggressive strategy would be the first trade of the expansion draft. Making trades before Friday offers the Valkyries flexibility to use the power they hold as drafters to stockpile better assets in the future.

Although the WNBA has not held an expansion draft since the Chicago Sky joined the league in 2008, trading has proved a useful tactic in the expansion drafts held by other women's professional sports leagues like the National Women's Soccer League. In 2024, seven teams made trades prior to the NWSL Expansion Draft to acquire full roster protection from the incoming teams.

In this case, the Fever would sweeten the deal by offering a coveted future first-round draft pick so that it could offload its biggest contract. The new franchise would then have the option to waive Samuelson and bank the 2026 draft pick if it does not want to pay her.

For Indiana, the draft picks are less valuable given the young core of former No. 1 overall picks Clark and Aliyah Boston, who are still on rookie contracts. The move would free up cap space to sign win-now players who could speed up the team's trajectory toward being a WNBA contender.