Why the Fever may protect these players in WNBA expansion draft, with a caveat

With collective bargaining agreement negotiations in flux, WNBA front offices are heading into the offseason with a lot of unknowns.

That includes for the expansion draft, which is slated for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire ahead of the 2026 season. In a regular offseason, the expansion draft would have happened by now; the Golden State Valkyries made their selections for the 2025 season on Dec. 6, 2024.

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But this expansion draft cannot happen until there is a new CBA, as a lot of rules that surround which players can be picked are collectively bargained. The rules of the expansion draft have not yet been released by the league, and they will not be known until after there is a ratified collective bargaining agreement.

The rules, however, would likely stay similar to that of the previous multiple-team expansion draft, which hasn’t happened in the league in over 25 years. That draft included the Indiana Fever, Miami So (now defunct), Portland Fire (folded then returned in 2026 under new ownership group) and Seattle Storm. In the 2000 expansion draft, existing teams could only protect five players from the expansion draft. The four expanding teams were able to pick six players each in a snake-draft format, meaning 24 total players were affected in that draft.

This expansion draft will only have two teams, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, so they will likely be able to select up to 12 players each. Existing teams, including the Fever, would likely only have five spots to protect players — one fewer than the six protected spots they had with the Golden State Valkyries draft last year.

What makes this draft especially difficult for the Tempo and the Fire is that all but two veterans in the league are free agents in some shape or form. The new CBA could also change multiple things about the expansion draft — that includes different rules on free agency and the core tag. Players can be cored for up to two years, but that could be minimized to one or even abolished entirely.

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Still, teams are planning as much as possible.

Here is who IndyStar projects to be the protected players for the Fever in the 2026 expansion draft:

Players Fever will likely protect in WNBA expansion draft

The first two on this list, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston, are obvious. The Fever’s 2023 and 2024 No. 1 draft picks are still under contract with the Fever — Boston through the 2026 season and Clark through the 2027 season — and they are cornerstones for Indiana.

Lexie Hull is going into the 2026 offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning she can talk to other teams, but Indiana has the right of first refusal and the ability to match any offer she gets. Hull has been a crucial role player for Indiana, and she has expressed interest in staying with the Fever.

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Makayla Timpson got minimal minutes with the Fever in her rookie season, but she showed a lot of potential as the No. 19 pick in the 2025 draft. She is one of three players under contract with the Fever in 2026, too.

Kelsey Mitchell is in a situation where the Fever will really have to rely on the new rules. Under the core designation, the 2025 MVP finalist is eligible to be cored for one more year. The Fever would definitely protect Mitchell and core her again should the rules remain in place.

But if the core designation goes down to one year, Mitchell, who was already cored for the 2025 season, would become a true unrestricted free agent and ineligible to be cored again, thus ineligible for the expansion draft itself. If that situation arises, the Fever would protect a different player.

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Players the Fever likely won’t protect in WNBA expansion draft

Sophie Cunningham could be another situation where any potential change in the core structure could change her status.

If the core designation goes down to one year, it would free up a spot for the Fever. They could use it on Cunningham to protect her from being picked then cored by the Tempo or Fire, but she is not a likely core candidate for the expansion teams as that would command a supermax salary. Cunningham is the most likely, however, to be one of the Fever’s unrestricted free agents to be picked and cored, if any would be.

None of the other unrestricted free agents would be viable core candidates for the Tempo and Fire, and Natasha Howard, who has already been cored for three years, is ineligible.

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Mock draft predictions: Who will the Indiana Fever pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft?

In the case of the core structure changing, the Fever could also elect to protect either Chloe Bibby, who is a reserved free agent (meaning the Fever can give her a qualifying offer under the minimum contract) or Kristy Wallace, who stepped away from the 2025 season for personal reasons.

Either way, the Fever are in one of the strongest spots of existing teams. They can easily protect all of their main assets, and the number of unrestricted free agents coming off the Fever’s roster means the Tempo and Fire would likely pick between Bibby and Wallace.

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube channel and join Fever Insiders Live.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever expansion draft protection projections, WNBA CBA rules