Stephanie White Admits 'Disappointed' Reaction to DeWanna Bonner's Fever Exit

On June 25, the Indiana Fever announced that they had waived DeWanna Bonner. This decision stemmed from Bonner having missed the past two weeks of play due to "personal reasons", which was later revealed to be regarding her being unhappy with her fit in Indiana after signing there as a free agent this past offseason. And Bonner being unhappy led to her requesting an exit from Indiana, which was ultimately granted.

Fever coach Stephanie White (who also coached Bonner on the Connecticut Sun for two seasons) spoke with the media on Thursday, and got honest about her reaction to Bonner's desire to leave.

“First and foremost, you know, obviously we're disappointed that things didn't work out,” White said, per the Indiana Fever's YouTube channel. “I love DB. I mean, DB is somebody that I have so much respect for. She's a Hall of Famer, and while I'm disappointed, I always, first and foremost, want her to be happy. And so I'm thankful for the time that we've had, and certainly want her to be happy and wish her the best."

White later added, “Things happen quickly and being able to mesh, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I think we've seen that in sports for a long time, and at the end of the day, my priority for DB personally, is that she's happy, right? And so there is a lot that goes into trying to make things work on the floor, certainly, and it didn't work the way necessarily that we wanted it to.

"And sometimes when that happens, a lot of other things come into play. So, you know, I'm disappointed, but I love her, and I will always want the best for her," White continued.