Indiana Fever president of basketball and business operations Kelly Krauskopf is stepping down from her roles with the organization, the team announced Friday. A succession plan is not immediately clear and Fever general manager Amber Cox remains in her role.
"It has been an honor and a privilege to help build and steward the Indiana Fever with the support and trust of Herb Simon," Krauskopf said in a press release. "I am deeply grateful for the opportunities, relationships, and shared accomplishments that have shaped my time with this organization. The Fever is poised for an exciting future, and I am proud to have helped lay the foundation for its continued growth and success. I will always cherish my time with Pacers Sports and Entertainment and the people who made it so meaningful."
Krauskopf was the Fever's original president and general manager for their inaugural season in 2000, and remained in that role until 2018, when the Indiana Pacers hired her as their assistant general manager and she became the first woman in NBA history to hold an executive basketball management role.
During her first stint with the Fever, Krauskopf built one of the most consistent organizations in the league. The Fever made the playoffs 13 times in her 19 seasons, including 12 consecutive seasons from 2005-16, which remains a WNBA record. Under Krauskopf's leadership, the Fever won their first and only title in 2012, and also reached the Finals in 2009 and 2015.
Krauskopf returned to the Fever in 2024, just as Caitlin Clark arrived and the franchise's worldwide popularity exploded. The Fever made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, but never advanced past the semifinals, and Krauskopf and Cox have both faced criticism for failing to build a better team around Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell. Off the court in her second tenure, Krauskopf helped oversee the development of the Fever's new $78 million sports performance center, which will open in March.
"When we started the Fever, Kelly saw what this franchise could become," Fever and Pacers owner Herb Simon said. "She built it, delivered a championship and came back when we needed her. She has played an extraordinary role in the growth of women's basketball in Indianapolis, and our family is grateful for everything she's given this organization. I'm proud to call her a friend."
The biggest immediate questions center on the Fever's front office and leadership. Will Cox be promoted? If not, and they hire a new president from outside the organization, will that person want to bring in their own GM to replace Cox? Could a new president even want to completely clean house and fire coach Stephanie White?
Krauskopf informed the organization of her decision prior to the end of the season, so you'd assume they have been working on a succession plan, but the Fever will need to make some decisions quickly.
This is a critical offseason for the franchise, and whoever replaces Krauskopf will immediately be thrown into the fire.
After a first-round exit to the Las Vegas Aces, the Fever have some major items on the agenda this offseason. First and foremost, they want to re-sign Mitchell, who is an unrestricted free agent. Cox said Mitchell will be a "major priority," while Clark said that she and her teammates will recruit Mitchell "as hard as we can."
Mitchell, however, is unsure of her future with the Fever, who drafted her No. 2 overall back in 2018.
"I have to be selfish," Mitchell said during her exit interview. "I think that's where I am in my career ... what I probably need and what's probably best for me. So I have to be selfish in that room. "But I think, ultimately, being on the Fever and being a part of an organization that does come with a lot of ups and downs, what factors in and what is important for me is, obviously, having a good chemistry on and off the floor. I've only been with one team my entire career, so it's all kind of like figuring this out. It's hard, man."
Clark, meanwhile, is eligible for an EPIC (Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract) extension, which allows players to renegotiate the fourth year of their rookie contract and sign a three-year extension. During her exit interview, Clark hinted at being willing to take a discount, but did not say whether she'll sign an EPIC deal.
"I think for myself, my focus is on winning. I certainly know what I deserve and what I'm worth, but at the same time, sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Clark said.
The Mitchell and Clark contract decisions will complicate an already messy cap sheet for the Fever. Even if both were willing to take a slight discount to return, the Fever would still have three players taking up about 60% of the salary cap moving forward, and it's not easy to build a championship roster with so few resources for everyone else. That's especially true when the Fever still have Monique Billings and Lexie Hull on the books for $800K apiece next season -- the result of a pair of disastrous deals Krauskopf and Cox handed out last offseason.
