Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) sits in the press conference Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, after Game 3 of the first round of the WNBA Playoffs at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. The Aces advanced to the semifinals after defeating the Fever, 94-83. Shirsh Sanstuti Mon, November 2, 2026 at 4:47 AM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Indiana Fever's season ended on October 1 against the Las Vegas Aces after A'ja Wilson's side pulled away late for a 94-83 win in Game 3 and took the first-round series 2-1. The loss ended a career year for Kelsey Mitchell, who set the league's single-season records for total points and 3-pointers.
The four-time All-Star is now an unrestricted free agent. With the Fever's front office being rebuilt, ESPN legend Linda Cohn says she is open to Indiana moving on from Mitchell, as long as the team can find suitable replacements.
Cohn's comments came on "The Linda Cohn Show" over the weekend in a segment about the newest addition to Indiana's front office. Sheri Sam, the Portland Trail Blazers' scouting manager since 2022, is joining the Fever as assistant general manager and enters a front office in the middle of change.
Indiana has no team president or general manager after president Kelly Krauskopf stepped down and general manager Amber Cox was fired in late October.
Regarding Mitchell, the veteran broadcaster began her assessment by noting how little is settled within the franchise, then tied her own view to who else Indiana could sign.
"We don't even know if she's going to sign with the Fever. We don't even know if she's going to be back. We don't know. And I'm not sure I'd want her back, as long as they find potential free agents that can pick up that scoring load," Cohn said.
Cohn also credited Mitchell and backed her right to test the market:
"We know she's talented. And we know she's going to look for the big bucks elsewhere. And good for her; that's why you're an unrestricted free agent. You can do what you want. It's great."
The former ESPN sportscaster's plan for Indiana prioritized Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston first.
"I'm over the Kelsey Mitchell thing. She can go if she has to," Cohn said. "I still believe you have to build around Caitlin and Aliyah Boston. You have to improve the perimeter defense, and you have to find someone to pick up the scoring slack."
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The scoring Cohn wants Indiana to replace came at a record pace. Mitchell's 24.7 points per game marked a career best and ranked second in the league, up from 20.2 ppg in 2025, and she got there on 50.9% shooting from the field and 45.0% from deep.
Her 27 consecutive 20-point games set a league record, and no WNBA pairing has ever outscored the one she formed with Clark, which powered Indiana's prolific offense to its franchise-record 28 regular-season wins.
All of that came on a $1.4 million supermax deal signed in April.
The 30-year-old Fever guard talked about how she will approach free agency in early October, days after the loss in Las Vegas.
"I have to be selfish," Mitchell said . "I think that's where I am in my career … what I probably need and what's probably best for me. So I have to be selfish in that room."
Fully testing the market is new to her. Indiana drafted Mitchell No. 2 overall out of Ohio State in 2018, and she has never played for any other WNBA team.
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The Fever made their own case for Mitchell, as Cox said in early October:
"She's meant so much to us and has, obviously, had, arguably, the best season in the history of our league in terms of being a scoring guard."
Indiana might try to re-sign the guard who just set the W's single-season record for total points, but Cohn is already making the case for finding other scorers instead.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
Source: Sports
