Can Indiana Fever Extend Aari McDonald Contract? Check Feasibility of Resigning Free Agent Guard over Hardship Deal
Aari McDonald came in as a ‘temporary solution’ for the Indiana Fever’s guard issue with Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson out injured. Colson may have returned earlier than expected, but Aari McDonald’s performances have forced coaches to give the ‘temp’ more minutes than the starter. Indiana Fever side is 2-0 with McDonald on the court, and fans are loving her energy.
Sadly, Aari McDonald is signed on a 10-day hardship contract and will have to be released or re-signed on June 11. Now, Clark and Cunningham are still out and will miss the upcoming tough matchup against the Atlanta Dream. This puts the Indiana Fever roster around 9 active players allowing – Aari to be part of the side. Once there are 10 players available from Indiana’s standard roster, McDonald’s contract will be automatically terminated.
How can Indiana Fever Keep Aari McDonald?
The team before Aari McDonald’s arrival lost three matches in a row, 2 without Cailin Clark. McDonald’s arrival suddenly brought back the team’s offensive identity, and they started ‘clicking’. Fans now want Aari McDonald on the roster even with Cunningham and Clark’s return. Here are the possibilities of the Indiana Fever keeping Aari McDonald.
First off, Indiana would need to wait 10 days after terminating her contract to bring her back. Importantly, Aari McDonald will be an unrestricted free agent during that period and will be able to sign with any team in the league. Indiana also does not have enough cap space in its current structure to pay McDonald.
Also given the fact that McDonald is a veteran player, her minimum pay structure is higher than the base minimum in the league. As per the rules, her annual salary could be in the range of $78,831, putting Fever over the cap space.
While the Fever would be able to sign her as a 12th player, it depends on when her replacement contract is terminated, but it likely would not be until at least July. Many are suggesting the Fever to waive an unused player. Indiana can do the same with a player on an unprotected contract if they want to get McDonald back earlier than that. Sydney Colson, forward Brianna Turner and rookie forward Makayla Timpson are all on unprotected contracts, and it will be interesting to see whether the franchise takes the bait on Aari McDonald and reshuffles their roster.
EN 
ES