{"id":923120,"date":"2026-10-06T19:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/923120\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T19:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T19:26:15","slug":"fever-urged-to-make-sophie-cunningham-decision-in-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/923120\/","title":{"rendered":"Fever Urged to Make Sophie Cunningham Decision in Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2228814487-e1776737965407.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Sophie Cunningham is disappointed in her new contract with the Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/wnba\/indiana-fever\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Indiana Fever<\/a> have an interesting offseason with some key players about to become available for other <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/wnba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WNBA<\/a> teams to sign.<\/p>\n<p>The Fever face two tough decisions: Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham. Indiana have already made it clear that Mitchell is their top priority, while Cunningham is on their radar to re-sign.<\/p>\n<p>There will be some conversation about what the Fever will do with Cunningham as a free agent. One opinion is already out there that isn\u2019t quite in favor of her coming back to the team.<\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever Being Told to Rethink Bringing Sophie Cunningham Back<\/p>\n<p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6270483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1920x1080-2026-08-19T215346.948.png\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\"  \/>GettyINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA \u2013 JULY 18: Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever reacts against the New York Liberty during the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 18, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bobby Goddin\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7663983\/2026\/10\/06\/wnba-sophie-cunningham-indiana-fever-caitlin-clark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener external\">The Athletic\u2019s Candice Buckner<\/a> shared an opinion piece on the Fever\u2019s decision with Cunningham. Buckner believes that because of the off-court distraction that comes with Cunningham, Indiana should not bring her back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, Cunningham shouldn\u2019t be muted. She can serve up hot takes on her podcast about Wilson needing to \u201cgrow up\u201d all she wants. She just needs to do it on another team. Cunningham might be content gold, but she\u2019s not nearly worth the trouble for a franchise struggling to keep basketball first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCunningham, however, is also adored by the likes of <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/royce-white\/\" title=\"Royce White\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"511716\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Royce White<\/a> and Kanter Freedom, a pair of has-beens who latched onto her words to crawl back into the spotlight. She\u2019s revered by Rokita, a politician who uses his public office to stoke culture wars. And one-hit wonder Riley, who\u2019s made a living off playing the trans card. They aren\u2019t fans, but agitators. They showed up because Cunningham held open the front door and let them in. The Fever need to reconsider who they let into their sacred home, including the players.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This season, Cunningham averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game with the Fever. She just finished up her second season in Indiana after six seasons with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/wnba\/phoenix-mercury\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Phoenix Mercury<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fever Face Tough Decision With Sophie Cunningham<\/p>\n<p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-6092168\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1920x1080-2026-06-13T214903.797.png\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\"  \/>GettyINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA \u2013 JUNE 4: Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever brings the ball up court during the game against the Atlanta Dream at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on June 4, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Hickey\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham was a key player for the Fever off the bench, thanks to her ability to shoot from the three-point line. If Indiana does not bring her back, they will have to find someone to fill that role.<\/p>\n<p>One area the Fever might focus on is looking at the forward position. Indiana is solid at guard with Mitchell and Caitlin Clark. They also have Aliyah Boston at center, but their forward play has been inconsistent.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is the Fever will pay Mitchell a lot of money to keep her there, which could eliminate a return for Cunningham. With other priorities, Cunningham might find a new home on another team.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/anthonyfmiller40\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Miller<\/a> Anthony Miller is a veteran reporter covering the WNBA and College Football for Heavy.com. He has been with Heavy since 2026, as he has covered multiple professional leagues like the NFL, WNBA, UFL, XFL, USFL, PLL, MLS, and more since 2019. Currently, he covers the UFL as a reporter for UFL News Hub and FanSided as a site expert and contributor covering the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, and Minnesota Vikings. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/anthonyfmiller40\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Anthony Miller<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Sophie Cunningham is disappointed in her new contract with the Indiana Fever. The Indiana Fever have an&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":923121,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-923120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=923120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=923120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=923120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=923120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}