When the Indiana Fever squared off against the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, their forward NaLyssa Smith’s game time came as a surprise. Smith, who had hit 7 double-doubles for the Fever this season, isn’t getting much time on the hardwood after the Olympics break. The head coach Christie Sides has other plans and is using her mostly to screen and rebound. Smith is finding it difficult to be a core player for the Fever and this didn’t go down well with her brother Rodney Smith, who took to the social media platform X after the game to share his perspective.

“Coach if you don’t want her, trade her,” Rodney had mentioned in a now-deleted post on X. This caught the fancy of many fans who shared their perspective on Smith’s time with the Fever. Rodney was so exasperated that he didn’t stop there. Instead, there was a fan tweet blaming Sides and Rodney seemed to support that.

“NaLyssa Smith been horrible because Christie Sides doesn’t set up anything for her to score she has to find it herself or fight for it and she only been using her for rebounding and setting screens,” the fan had stated. Smith who played for 10 minutes could only score 2 points and 3 rebounds which affected the Fever as they lost by an 80-90 margin. Hence, the fans criticized Sides for her tactics.

And the change in Sides’ strategy for Smith happened after the game against the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday. Against the Mercury, Smith had scored 13 points with 9 rebounds. She was also given an ample 28 minutes in the game. However, the last two games haven’t been what NaLyssa expected of Sides. In the previous game against the Seattle Storm, Smith could only score 3 points with 7 rebounds in the 20 minutes she played. Thus, Smith’s declining offensive numbers, especially after the Olympic break, is a cause of concern for her family. But, is there any ground for Smith’s trade?

Was trading NaLyssa Smith in Christie Sides’s mind?

The in-season trade window was open till August 20 and analysts suggested that Smith be traded. Seeing a lack of adjustability for Smith and Katie Lou Samuelson, there were rumors that the Fever would send both of them to the Washington Mystics along with a 2026 first-round pick and get Brittney Sykes and Myisha Hines-Allen in exchange. The trade was proposed keeping in mind that even Samuelson was finding it hard to impact the game since Clark and Aliyah Boston had taken over the offensive duties. However, the deal never happened.

The Fever general manager Lin Dunn revealed that with such a hard salary cap the market was difficult “to maneuver and make trades, you know, realistic, substantial trades, because you’re limited with your salary cap and your roster spots.” Hence, that could have been a possible reason for the Fever not to indulge in any “blockbuster trades,” as per IndyStar.

Hopefully, Smith will be able to find her place in the team and develop her game according to Sides. Meanwhile, fans can only empathize with Smith and her brother who too looks to be affected by Sides’s decisions.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.