ESPN analyst believes Christie Sides' firing could slow fever growth

One of the biggest news this WNBA offseason is the Indiana Fever's decision to fire head coach Christie Sides after her second year leading the team.

The fallout from that decision hasn't fully sunk in yet, as the Fever still haven't announced their next head coach (though the consensus seems to be that former Connecticut Sun head coach Stephanie White will take her job). nor whether Sides will end up coaching another WNBA team.

However, during a segment on ESPN's “The Elle Duncan Show” that aired Thursday, Duncan spoke about another impact she said firing Sides could have on the Fever: the stunted development of its young players .

“If the goal of every season — looking at Indiana in particular — is to make the postseason after not making the postseason since 2016, then you also have to think about player development,” Duncan said.

“It's another coach now, Caitlin Clark…You're talking about a team that really hit its stride towards the end of last year, and now they're facing another coaching change. And for Aliyah Boston: “This will be her second coaching change. It will be the same for Caitlin Clark,” Duncan continued.

She probably meant that this would be Boston and Clark's second coaching change in their short WNBA careers and not their second coaching change, as this is the first coaching change both Clark and Boston have gone through during their time with the Fever.

“You just wonder how much you are stunting their potential development or growth, or at least delaying it, by introducing a new regime,” Duncan concluded.

It's certainly an interesting perspective and time will tell if Duncan is right. But given Clark and Boston's exceptional talent (along with Stephanie White, who is one of the league's most respected coaches), we have a feeling the Fever's development could soon skyrocket when she takes the helm in 2025.