Fever Veteran Excluded From Protected Player List Speculation Posted Apparent Reaction
Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler faced one of the toughest adjustments for any player on the team in Caitlin Clark's rookie season. That's because Wheeler, who was the highest paid member of the Fever, saw her role and minutes sharply decline.
Wheeler won over fans by taking all that in stride and becoming a veteran leader for the squad, though she did acknowledge her dip in production publicly. And since Clark will dominate the minutes at the position, most don't expect the Fever's former lead guard to be amongst those protected from the Golden State Valkyries in the upcoming WNBA Expansion Draft. Despite the sacrifices she made for the team
Of course this hasn't been confirmed, but speculation in that direction picked up after Indiana's social media account posted a graphic reading, "new era, new energy. already making plans for next season 😈". Words that were accompanied by a mocked up image of new coach Stephanie White and six Fever players.
Since each franchise can protect six players from being poached by the Valkyries, fans speculated the since deleted post may have spoiled who those members of the squad are. Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, NaLyssa Smith and Temi Fagbenle were those depicted surrounding White in the graphic.
They deleted it!?!? pic.twitter.com/VOb8VZRS7g
— CMSLA[G]LE (@cm_slagle) November 23, 2024
It appears Wheeler may have seen the talk about this and her exclusion. Because she had a social media post of her own that clearly seemed to be referencing the discourse. Wheeler wrote, "The solid picks to secure 🙃" on her X account Saturday night.
The solid picks to secure 🙃
— Erica Wheeler (@EWeezy_For3eezy) November 23, 2024
It looks like Wheeler was just having some fun with the online discussion rather than taking anything too personally. And it remains to be seen who the Fever will actually protect and which players will suit up next season. But it is certainly going to be a fun story to follow.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!