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If you count yourself amongst the people who called for Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides to free Celeste Taylor, Monday’s news was probably not what you wanted to hear. The team announced that they had waived the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Considering the team’s defensive struggles, a primetime perimeter stopper like Taylor should have gotten more minutes, if only to see if the hype surrounding her defensive abilities would translate to the pros. Well, after five games and a total of 16 minutes, she’s gone, with her memorable moments taking place off the court, like when she cried immediately after being selected or when her teammates sang “Happy Birthday” to her.
Seeing the camaraderie in the latter video is so awesome and heartwarming, making you forget that pro ball is a business. The cut was a cold reminder of that. As pointed out by Sides:
That was just a really hard decision. Celeste did everything we asked, she’s a great teammate, she talked the most as a rookie. She felt really comfortable communicating on the court. It was just really hard to let her go, it was a business decision. One of the hardest thing we have to do in this business.
In 2023, 15 of the 36 players that were drafted to the W made the opening-day rosters; this year’s rookies took only 13 of the 144 roster spots. Four of them were second-round picks. It’s great that Taylor got to experience the WNBA, a chance that isn’t afforded to many women athletes. It would just be better if we’d been able to see her get a fair shot at keeping her roster spot.
Taylor is gone to make room for Damiris Dantas, a 6-foot-3 forward from Brazil who last played in the W two years ago. She couldn’t join the team at the early stages of training camp because of visa and personal issues, and she’s also had a right knee injury that needed healing. Additionally, Temi Fagbenle should return from her foot injury soon, meaning the Fever’s frontcourt rotations could get interesting. We’ll see how the moves affect NaLyssa Smith, who’s been crucial for Fever’s good play so far.
The recent loss to the Sky, while devastating, came after a very good game. Let’s hope the promising play continues when the team returns to action on Thursday night, visiting the Seattle Storm (10 p.m. ET, Prime Video). If the Fever can remain competitive with the best of them, the rumors of tanking and Sides’ job being in jeopardy should die down. At least for some time.