Once free agency finally starts, the Fever have one obvious priority: re-sign Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell just put together an MVP-level season, and there’s no way the organization wants to lose her. The Fever should also chase Azurá Stevens.
After Unrivaled’s first in-season trade, Stevens and Mitchell are now teammates on the Hive. Stevens just played her second game with the team and contributed to an 80-78 win over the Rose by recording 20 points and 8 rebounds in just over 11 minutes off the bench. Stevens has now won with two Fever players—Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull.
After the game, Mitchell said how great it was to play with a big, who could space the floor and thrive in a high-paced system. Those skills also make her a perfect fit with a Fever team trying to build a contender around Caitlin Clark. Clark, much like Mitchell, would enjoy playing with a forward like Stevens.
Azurá Stevens would be a great fit next to the Fever’s big three
Stevens vastly boosted her free agency stock with a career season in Los Angeles. She averaged 12.8 points, 8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game and was a candidate for the Most Improved Player award. She especially improved as a 3-point shooter, upping her percentage by three percent while also slightly increasing her volume compared to the previous season.
That improved 3-point shot makes Stevens one of the most versatile forwards on the free agent market. She can play next to pretty much any other big, space the floor, go to work in the paint, and defend on the perimeter and around the basket. She may even be able to play some minutes at the three in super-sized lineups after working on her perimeter game in Unrivaled.
Stevens’s skill set would be the perfect addition to a team built around Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and Caitlin Clark. She would provide spacing that all three stars could benefit from, defensive versatility, and the ability to thrive in the fast-paced system that often brings out the best in Clark and Mitchell.
Much like Stevens, Boston has used Unrivaled to expand her range. She looks more confident in her 3-point shot and has made quite a few of them already. If Boston can punish opponents from behind the 3-point line AND play next to a reliable outside shooter, the Fever’s frontcourt would immediately become more dangerous.
Natasha Howard played well for the Fever last season, but Stevens can provide the same rebounding and scoring while adding versatility on both ends of the floor that the team didn’t have last season.
For Stevens, leaving the Sparks for the Fever would come with a bigger role now that Cam Brink is back, a chance to compete for a championship, and the promise of many easy buckets created by Caitlin Clark.