2 seasons. 1 playoff appearance. Still fired? While entering the playoffs with a young team like the Indiana Fever who had not done it since 2016 in just the second season looks like an achievement, what surprised everyone was when Christie Sides was fired despite her laudable turnaround. Though the Fever management revealed that they want to go for the WNBA Championship title and hence a change in coaching was necessary, many speculate if the Fever’s biggest star Caitlin Clark had something to do with it. While the answer to that isn’t clear yet, an ESPN analyst feels that might have been the case considering the problems with the head coach.

On Friday’s episode of The Elle Duncan Show, Gary Striewski opined that Clark could be the main reason for Sides’ firing. Though Duncan didn’t endorse the same views, maybe there is no smoke without fire.

“When you have Caitlin Clark on your team, and everything runs through her franchise-wise, and large part obviously the WNBA’s growth… I don’t think Fever brass make that change without Caitlin Clark signing off. So if she did sign off or at least say ‘Hey, do what you got to do’ is that an indication of a little bit of trouble in said locker room? And that’s why they let her…?” Stiewski further added to clarify his take that if the reigning Rookie of the Year wanted to play under Sides, she would have given her take in the decision, but mentioned how it was his thinking and the franchise probably did not even talk to the No. 22.

“Listen! If Caitlin Clark was like that’s the coach that I want to progress with… they don’t make that change. I don’t know just to my estimation. Maybe, they didn’t even bring her into the fold or let her know, but just something to think about…,” Striewski stated.

Meanwhile, Duncan denied the rumors pointing out that the fans usually point to the popular players when such decisions are made like it has been done with LeBron James too, but “I don’t think that Caitlin Clark is was you know… it was one of those you know… I don’t think it’s Gladiator, right? Where he’s like you know ‘Does he live? Or does he die?'” before concluding “I mean I could be wrong.”

What Duncan stated can be true as well. However, it is interesting to note how Bron is called ‘the coach killer’ in the NBA and has created a team that he wants to play with. Lisa Bluder’s words on how she built a team around the ‘Iowa sensation’ also come to mind which further supports Striewski.

Though there wasn’t any overt problem between Sides and Clark, there could have existed an issue between the two kept away from the public eye. And some instances can point to that. In May, during a game between the LA Sparks and the Fever, Clark was benched in the first quarter. This came after her rival Cameron Brink stole the ball from the ROTY, and therefore when she couldn’t avenge herself and was benched, her fans took to X to slam Sides. Then in June when Clark clashed with the Chicago Sky, and was trailing by a singular point, Sides made up a huddle, most likely enumerating the next step for the team.

At such a crucial moment, the Des Moines-born shrugged off her shoulder and walked away from the huddle, which appeared as if she didn’t want to take the onus for winning the game. Then when the Fever lost a game to the Seattle Storm a few days later, Sides during the post-game press conference, hinted at the point guard expounding that “Caitlin Clark needs to shoot a minimum of 15 shots a game for us.”

Then during a game against the Dallas Wings in July, when the Fever were on a timeout, Clark’s lips could be read as if questioning the decision. Therefore, as mentioned while there was no mention of a dispute in the media, these could have set things off between the two. Meanwhile, the Fever President shared her reason to show the door to Sides.

Christie Sides was fired for not fulfilling the Fever’s dreams

On Sunday, the Indiana Fever shocked everyone when they announced that Sides had been fired. Sides spent two of her four years with the Fever, taking them to the WNBA playoffs. However, for the President of Basketball Operations Kelly Krauskopf, that wasn’t enough. In her statement, she thanked Sides but also made it clear that “it is also imperative that we remain bold and assertive in the pursuit of our goals,” before expressing that the decision could help in “bringing another WNBA championship back to Indiana.” 

Notably, the Fever had won their first and only Championship title in 2012 and had failed to repeat their heroics since then. Later, Sides too came out to share a cryptic tweet on X. According to her “Leave it better than you found it.✌🏼” To many, it appeared as if she was reflecting on her progression as a coach and how she had helped the Fever get into the playoffs.

While there is no strong reason to believe that Clark could have asked the management to sign off Sides, some of these things do feel true, especially after T-Spoon’s firing from the Sky, and how there were rumors that some of the players didn’t like her as a coach. Meanwhile, the truth will come out when Sides or Clark decide to address the elephant in the room.