Uncertainty surrounding DeWanna Bonner's future makes silence deafening

It's been nearly two weeks (12 days, to be exact) since the Indiana Fever waived DeWanna Bonner and the 2-time WNBA Champion made it clear she'd prefer to be traded to the Phoenix Mercury, where her partner Alyssa Thomas plays, or the Atlanta Dream, close to her offseason home base. And though the days that immediately followed Bonner's exit saw a flurry of activity, nothing has been said since.

On top of that, the Mercury has made roster changes since June 25 and that don't appear to have included Bonner. The silence surrounding her status in the league is a loud one; it's presently not clear if Bonner has a future in the WNBA this season — or at all.

What happened between the Indiana Fever and DeWanna Bonner

Neither the Fever or Bonner pointed to a specific reason for her departure. Bonner began to miss games following the team's match against the Dream on June 10; at the time, her absence was explained due to "personal reasons." As fans began to more frequently wonder what exactly was going on behind the scenes, reporters began to ask questions — but nothing came to light until Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile reported Bonner had requested a trade.

Things began to quickly shift once the news was made public. Bonner shared a message in departure that chalked her decision to exit up to a mismatch — in her words, "I felt the fit did not work out" — and it appeared that she would have no shortage of options in the league.

But Bonner herself threw doubt on that assumption only a day later, when she appeared to reply to claims she quit the Fever via Instagram. "A QUITTER!! Nah never been that!!" Bonner wrote on the platform on June 26. The same day, Aces coach Becky Hammon suggested Bonner would have no problem finding a new home in the WNBA. While speaking with reporters, Hammon offered, "Now there's like a DB sweepstakes."

But since then, things have been especially quiet when it comes to Bonner. Also on June 26, the Mercury waived Megan McConnell and signed Kiana Williams, and the team has made no transactions since then.

DeWanna Bonner's options might be limited after all

Though Bonner's strategy initially seemed it could pay off — per her team's request, no teams claimed her off waivers during the requisite 48 hours following her exit from the Fever. That allowed Bonner to take her career in her own steps, a potentially powerful move that could have given her the ability to negotiate directly with teams she's open to playing for.

Outside of those two teams (one of which didn't even remotely have the cap space for Bonner in the first place), there aren't exactly a lot of teams who can take on a vet who commanded $200,000 at her former team — the same team she seemingly refused to show up to games for, despite whatever was going on behind the scenes.

It could be that until Bonner or the Fever more broadly explains what went wrong, no team wants to enter into a potentially messy or fraught dynamic. It could also be that teams already have rosters set and want to stick with the players — and cap space — they have allotted. It could also be that some teams with plenty of cap space reached out, but Bonner wasn't interested.

Whatever is going on with DeWanna Bonner's future in the league, fans of one of the best to play the game are anxious for an update — though it's not clear if one is coming anytime soon.