Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has no hard feelings toward DeWanna Bonner, who will make her return to Indianapolis on Wednesday night with the Phoenix Mercury just a month after she was waived following a trade request.
“I think she’s fit in perfectly with Phoenix,” White said after practice on Tuesday. “Her and [Alyssa Thomas] play so well together, and she does a really good job of adding a different dimension with her ability to be a stretch four to complement and her and Satou [Sabally] being able to play on the floor at the same time with [Thomas]. She’s comfortable there, she’s comfortable in that system.
“It’s gonna be different to game plan against her. Her and AT both, honestly, after having been on the sideline with them for a couple years,” White continued. “But I’m glad that she’s happy and I’m glad that she’s found her spot.”
After five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, Bonner decided to follow White to the Fever in free agency and was the team’s marquee signing during the winter. She moved into third place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list in her first game with the Fever, but her tenure was largely downhill from there.
‘I wouldn’t do anything differently’: DeWanna Bonner has no regrets after messy Fever exit, return to Mercury
Carter Bahns
Bonner was benched after just three games and averaged 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds on 34.5% shooting in her nine appearances with the Fever. In mid-June, Bonner stepped away from the Fever for what the team called “personal reasons.” As her absence stretched to nearly two weeks, reports began to circulate that she had requested a trade. Eventually, the Fever waived Bonner on June 25.
While Bonner faced criticism over how she handled her departure from the Fever, she told reporters recently that she “wouldn’t do anything differently.”
“I think my journey is my journey, and I’m going to accept that,” Bonner said. “It carried me to where I am now in Phoenix, and it happened that way for a reason.”
Bonner, now 37 and in her 16th season, signed with the Mercury on July 8. She was drafted by the franchise with the No. 5 pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft and spent the first 10 seasons of her career in Phoenix. By returning to the Mercury she also got to reunite with her fiancée, Thomas, with whom she played for five seasons in Connecticut.
The Fever fans may not be as kind as White was when Bonner takes the floor on Wednesday, but she said she’s not worried about their reaction.
“I’m just going to go out and do my job,” Bonner said. “They have every right to go out and do what they want to do. I’m just going to go out and compete with my team.”