Indiana fills a frontcourt hole
The Indiana Fever needed a body in the middle, and on Monday they found one. Indiana signed veteran center Mercedes Russell, a week after Damiris Dantas underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in her left knee. Losing Dantas thinned an already short frontcourt, and Russell arrives to steady it.
At 6-foot-6, the 31-year-old brings size the Fever could not easily replace from within. She spent last season with the Los Angeles Sparks, averaging 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds across 20 games off the bench.
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A resume built on winning
Russell’s value sits in her history more than her recent box scores. She won two WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm, part of a career that spans 209 games and 79 starts across stops with the New York Liberty, Seattle and Los Angeles. Her career line reads 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds a night. The Liberty drafted the Tennessee product in the second round in 2018, and she has held a place in the league for the better part of a decade since.
The stakes for Indiana
This is a depth signing, not a headline splash. But depth decides Augusts and Septembers in the WNBA, and a frontcourt down its backup center cannot afford to run thin. Russell gives Indiana minutes it can trust while the roster absorbs the loss of Dantas.
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