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The Indiana Fever pursued former guard Aari McDonald on Wednesday after a roster spot opened up. The Fever waived veteran star DeWanna Bonner, who played nine games. According to Bonner, she felt as if "the fit did not work out" and decided to move on with her career.
McDonald played three games for the Fever after the organization signed her. That was when Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham missed games due to injuries. She averaged 11.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists on 42.9 percent shooting. Following that short stint, the 26-year-old guard was released by the team.
On Thursday, it was made official that McDonald will rejoin the roster. According to the former third pick, she had conversations with Fever COO & general manager Amber Cox about returning to the team.
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"Amber and I, you know, had multiple talks just about the possibility of me coming back, and I definitely was interested, but I didn't want to go through the process," McDonald said.
"There were a couple of other teams interested, and I was just up front with Amber, like, of course I would love to be here, but I’m gonna explore just to see what the other teams are talking about. But in the back of my mind, I just knew this was the place to be."
Cox said McDonald is a perfect fit for the Fever. The executive expressed how impactful she is on both ends of the floor.
Aari McDonald talks about her mentality against Sparks
On Friday, the Fever are set to face the LA Sparks for the first time after Aari McDonald joined Indiana. Ahead of the game, she was asked about her mentality for the game against LA.
"My mentality tonight is to be on demon time," she said. "I’m ready. Still got love for the organization, the players I’m still close to some. It’s another game but still I wanna go out there be aggressive and just have fun and get the w."
This will be the first meeting between the two teams. Last season, both teams faced each other three times. The Fever had a 2-1 record over the Sparks.
Last season, McDonald was part of the Sparks roster. She appeared in 26 games, averaging 8.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists. It will be the first time she'll face her former team this season.
