Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie White all sat with ‌gloomy faces at the podium after crashing out of the first round of WNBA Playoffs. This was Clark’s second first-round exit in ‌her three years in the league, and you couldn’t help but sense the tension in the air. A sense of a major shake-up was looming in Indiana and it finally happened. 

First, Kelly Krauskopf, the team’s president, stepped down from her position, and on the same day, the team fired GM Amber Cox. While the major shakeup can give the Fever a chance to rebuild and start winning, according to WNBA analyst Rachel DeMita, the team first needed to address a bigger question.

“They don’t have an identity because in the last two seasons that we’ve watched, they’ve never really formed an identity of this team,” DeMita said on her Courtside Club podcast. “From what I’ve known as well, it doesn’t seem like the Fever has ever given the keys of this franchise to one particular player.

“If you’re going to give them to Kelsey, give them to Kelsey just so the players know what to expect. The fans know what to expect. If you’re giving the keys to Kelsey, you build the offense a little differently than if you’re giving the keys to Caitlin Clark.”

This is not the first time that DeMita has brought up an identity issue with the Fever. After their first-round elimination, she alluded to the same issue. DeMita had called out the Fever for the continued underperformance despite having three All-Star players on the roster. Now, she is urging the Fever to establish a hierarchy in the roster and give a face to the leader of the team.

“There’s a hierarchy in basketball that has to happen. And the best teams in the world, at any level of basketball, there’s a hierarchy. There are players who are ‌franchise players. There are players who are role players,” she added. 

Clark is Indiana’s franchise player. She brings viewership, and since her arrival, the Fever’s valuation has increased more than sixfold: from $90 million to $560 million. However, the Fever have failed to establish her as the leader of the team. 

While the sudden turn of events in Indiana has left a power vacuum, there is a bigger question that Clark herself is facing. Can she put Indiana and winning on the same page? If not, DeMita suggested the Fever star follow Angel Reese’s footsteps.

“I think with any of these, with anybody that the Fever are hiring, talk to Caitlin. Because here’s the truth of the matter. It’s really something like keeping Caitlin happy, or she’s gone,” DeMita added.

“I’m going to use Angel Reese as the example because I think Angel leaving Chicago was the best thing that she could have done for her career. Caitlin can also do that if she’s not the captain of this franchise. She doesn’t need to go down with the ship. So if she feels like this is a sinking ship and she’s not able to excel here, she also shouldn’t waste her time, and she should absolutely get out.”

Reese was the Sky’s franchise player in her first two years in the WNBA. But after failing to make the playoffs, she openly threatened to leave Chicago. The Sky traded her to Atlanta earlier this year.

In her first year with the Atlanta Dream, Reese achieved massive success on all fronts. She won the Defensive Player of the Year, and now she is in the WNBA Finals with the potential to win a title and a Finals MVP. 

Reese’s success story won’t be limited to Atlanta. Clark’s constant comparison to the Dream star will eventually give rise to the most provocative headlines. The Fever should be worried if they aren’t.