What led to the DeWanna Bonner...

The Indiana Fever rolled out the red carpet for each of their free agent signings this offseason, ushering them around the personalized locker rooms and practice gymnasium. The introductory press conferences reached rarely seen levels in attention.

DeWanna Bonner, the team’s flashiest signing, topped them all. Fans commended her approach, her career and the impact she would have on their team. There was nary a negative troll in the bunch. Everyone, from those in the room to those on the keyboards, was beyond optimistic.

“I just wanted to be another puzzle piece into what they had,” the 15-year veteran said at the time. She was joining a team on the upswing, looking to win now with Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston on inexpensive rookie deals. She praised the “dynamic core” and described the team as impressive, while also calling the move “selfish,” in part because of her daughters living three hours away.

“I love her reference of being a puzzle piece,” Fever head coach Stephanie White, who coached Bonner for two seasons in Connecticut, said in the same news conference. “It’s a huge piece because of her ability to do what she does on the floor and because of who she is in the locker room and because of the wisdom that she can present to our team on a daily basis.”

But Bonner hadn't been on the floor or in the locker room for two weeks, and she won't be in the future after the Fever waived Bonner on Wednesday. It’s a blow to the title-contending franchise that sought out experienced veteran champions to help lead its young core and boost what was a league-worst defense.

In preseason and early games, Clark pointed toward Bonner as the strongest voice in the Fever locker room, and Bonner spoke of the team’s positive reception. Throughout team-run media availability and in-house social media postings, everyone said all the right things in positive tones until Bonner’s break from the team grew longer and intel remained vague.

Bonner, 37, missed the Fever’s last five games for “personal reasons,” apparently unhappy with her piece of the puzzle. She came off the bench after three games and notched season highs of 21 points and 13 points in two of the six games.

“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 grant my request and move on, particularly at this point in my career,” Bonner said in a statement issued through the team on Wednesday.

How did we get here?

Bonner, a six-time All-Star and two-time champion with Phoenix, signed a $200,000 unprotected contract with the Fever in February. It was the third-highest Fever salary behind Kelsey Mitchell, who re-signed at the supermax $249,244 under a core designation, and Natasha Howard, their first free agent addition at $214,466, per Her Hoop Stats Salary Cap Database.

The addition was an eye-raiser in some ways. Bonner spent the last five seasons in Connecticut, where she began dating and became engaged to forward Alyssa Thomas. Thomas, also a free agent last year, signed with Phoenix. Bonner went to Indiana, where her children from her first marriage reside. Thomas had also spoken after the first-round semifinal win over the Fever last offseason about “racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base” she wanted the team to address.

“The support here has been just phenomenal,” Bonner said during Fever media day in late April. “I really can’t go anywhere. I’ve been here like a week and a half and everywhere I go it’s just, ‘We’re excited for the season. Thank you for being here.’ It’s been really, really refreshing.”

In the sold-out season opener, Bonner moved into third on the all-time WNBA scoring list with 7 points (2 of 9), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Moving further up past Diana Taurasi or Tina Charles is unlikely.

National TV cameras caught Clark mic’d up, urging her teammates to help Bonner get the record, and said afterward she asked to go in to get it done. The crowd roared when Bonner raised her hand in jubilation at the free-throw line, and she was giddy outside the locker room afterward discussing the graciousness she felt. It was, she agreed, a perfect season-opening win.

“In order to win, you know kind of what it takes to be winners,” Bonner said. “And from this moment, it hasn't been any doubt in my leadership, I think. And that's what I kind of appreciate about this group. They really trust me, and they really listen to me, and they learn. They learn a lot, and they [have] just been hungry since day 1 in training camp. So it's been really fun stepping on the court with them.”

Bonner started the next two games, but played fewer than 20 minutes, scoring a combined 1 point with 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers. While White played with starting lineups and brought Bonner off the bench in a last-minute loss to New York, Bonner had 2 points, went scoreless off field goals and added 7 rebounds.

Then Indiana got hit with the injury bug. Bonner scored 21 points off the bench against Washington on May 28, 13 against her old Connecticut squad on May 30, nine against Washington on June 3, and a combined 11 on a two-game road trip to Chicago and Atlanta. She shot better than 50% in three of those games and went 9 of 21 from 3.

Ahead of the rematch with New York on June 14, Bonner missed practice and was listed on the availability report as “not with team — personal.” While she remained away, White answered questions by saying the team is focused on supporting Bonner.

After reports of a potential trade and disgruntled Bonner, White answered the single question posed to her in a road availability ahead of the Fever's win in Seattle on Tuesday night: what conversations has she had with Bonner and the front office?

"I haven't had a lot of conversations with her recently, really focused on the team we have right here and what we need to do to position ourselves to win," White said.

The Fever announced they had waived Bonner on Wednesday morning and signed former hardship contract standout Aari McDonald.

WNBA 'contract divorces'

The Bonner-Fever pairing is far from the first to go sideways. With small rosters and restrictive salary caps, there’s no room to keep players who aren’t contributing the way either side intended, or who are creating issues within the locker room.

The best comp for Bonner in recent memory is Tina Charles, another veteran making no small claim of wanting to win a ring in her later years. Charles, the 2010 No. 1 overall pick and 2012 MVP, signed with the stacked Mercury during the 2022 free agency window in an attempt to win her first championship.

Phoenix was coming off losing in the Finals and returned Skylar Diggins, Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. But Griner missed the season while wrongfully detained in Russia, and outwardly, things deteriorated between Diggins, Taurasi and first-time head coach Vanessa Nygaard.

They endured a “contract divorce” on June 25, 2022, after 16 games. General manager Jim Pitman said in a statement announcing the parting that their “season has not gone according to our plan” and it “was best for both parties to go our separate ways at this time.” Charles, the league’s second-highest career scorer, reportedly wasn’t happy with her role in the offense. She signed with Seattle, played last season in Atlanta and is currently with the Sun.

The 2022 season was the summer of “contract divorces,” a term used when a team wants to release a player due guaranteed money while saving cash and cap space. (It’s really a simple buyout.) The same season, Liz Cambage and the Sparks agreed to break up on the heels of internal discord. Cambage hasn’t played a minute in the league since. There were five “contract divorces” in 2022, and three the year prior.

The Fever agreed to a buyout with Katie Lou Samuelson in February. Samuelson was due to make $180,000 in 2025 on a protected contract, but had not fit into the offense in her first season. The team paid her $106,419, according to Her Hoop Stats WNBA Salary Cap Database.

What’s next for Fever, Bonner as they head separate ways?

The Fever already made their initial move in bringing back McDonald, a guard with a defensive tenacity whom White praised in her short stint while Clark was out. They can pay her the veteran minimum of $53,000. Since Bonner was on an unprotected deal, the Fever will keep about $136,000 from her contract for approximately $119,000 in cap room. With McDonald, the Fever have the minimum 11-player roster and can add one more player.

The frontcourt remains a concern, particularly with Damiris Dantas en route to her Brazilian national team at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup tournament, which runs through July 6. The team suspended her contract while she is gone, bringing their active roster down to 10. Makayla Timpson could see more playing time in the interim.

Bonner now hits the waiver wires, where teams with the cap space to take on her contract can add her within the next 48 hours. Teams are being advised not to, since she wants to sign with the Mercury, per a report by Front Office Sports.

If she clears waivers, Bonner will become a free agent, and any team can sign her on a negotiated free-agent deal. The Mercury have $88,103 in cap space, more than the required veteran minimum of $78,831. She would pair with Thomas, Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally on a team that has come together quickly with their free-agent acquisitions.

Bonner made no secret during her short time in Indiana that she wanted to win a championship, and will surely want to join a legitimate contender. A team with cap room, such as the Washington Mystics, could add her off the wires, but if Bonner doesn't want to play, it would result in the same situation as Indiana.

"What truly makes DB really special is her drive to win," Fever general manager Amber Cox, who has worked with Bonner throughout the years, said at that introductory press conference. "Since her rookie season in 2009 in Phoenix, when you ask DB what is most important to her, the answer has never changed. 'I just want to win.'"