Kelly Kopp—and I believe that is how you pronounce it (correct me if I’m wrong, I didn’t go try and figure it out with AI or anything like that)—is returning to the Indiana Fever as President of Basketball Operations. For those of you new (which is, I believe, most fans), probably even regular fans of the WNBA don’t notice this, but anyway, she was actually with the Indiana Fever for what, 18 or 19 years?
I saw somewhere else that she joined them in ’99, so maybe she joined in the offseason of ’99 and started employment in 2000. But she was with the franchise from 2000 to 2018 before jumping over to the NBA Indiana Pacers, where she has been an Assistant General Manager. So, think about that, okay?
In the time that she was there—well, let me get to this first, okay—she was with the Fever from 2000 to 2018 as President and General Manager. She’s coming back as President of Basketball and Business Operations. She says, “The WNBA and Fever have always been a part of me, and it is truly a privilege to be asked to return to lead this team at an unprecedented time of growth in women’s basketball.”
She also thanked Kevin Pritchard for asking her to join his management staff six years ago, adding, “There’s no doubt that experience will serve me well as I enter this next chapter.” I’ve also heard that Kelly is a big Caitlyn Clark fan.
Now, what I wanted to say before and jump ahead: for those of you who don’t know, while Kelly was with the Indiana Fever, they reached the playoffs 13 times, got to the WNBA Finals three times, and of course, won the league championship in 2012. By the way, the Pacers reached the playoffs twice in her first two seasons, went through a rebuild, and reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013-2014.
So, as you can see here, this says that she joined in ’99, so maybe the first season was 2000. She was also involved in helping the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team select its rosters for 2004, 2008, and 2012. I wonder if the 2024 roster would have been just a little different if Kelly was still helping pick that.
Kelly’s entire career has been about stepping into critical roles and providing unparalleled leadership. I am incredibly excited to have her lead the Fever through this historic moment for the franchise and sport. Mel Raines, the CEO of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, said in the press release, “She laid the foundation for success we are enjoying and is a true trailblazer for the sport. There is no one better equipped to lead us into this exciting new chapter.”
Now, Kelly being picked is a huge signal that the Indiana Fever are going to make changes, and that is where I hold back a little. For me, this means what it seems like: as soon as the Indiana Fever season ends, Lyn Dunn and Christy Sides need to be fired. It has not worked. Lyn Dunn is not the right general manager for the Indiana Fever going forward with Caitlyn Clark as the cornerstone of their franchise.
It is very clear Christy Sides is not equipped to be a head coach for the Indiana Fever with Caitlyn Clark as the cornerstone of the franchise. She has not gotten better. I know people got confused for a little bit when the Fever had that really nice run post-Olympic break, and people started thinking, “Oh, maybe Sides can coach,” but she never actually changed. She hasn’t adapted.
We’ve seen it time and time again that she holds the Fever back from doing what the team is best at. She has no idea how to run a half-court offense. It’s all about standing around and getting pounded into the paint, and then hopefully Caitlyn or Kelsey will bail the team out and create something. Nothing has changed. She has not grown as a coach. She’s always had this reflex, this go-to of throwing players under the bus.
She’s never been able to be complimentary to Caitlyn Clark. It has just been a dumpster fire this entire season. What Kelly needs to do—and I believe this is that signal—is make changes. But in order for us all to be sure, Lyn Dunn and Christy Sides need to go.
Lyn Dunn has made it clear she actually despises the Caitlyn Clark fans that have come along with Caitlyn Clark. She’s said it repeatedly—it’s on video. I have shown it in other videos. Yes, Lyn Dunn has spoken out against the Indiana Fever fanbase. She does not like them. She is a huge supporter of Christy Sides. The reason we have Christy Sides as the dumpster fire head coach is because of Lyn Dunn.
The reason players like Wallace were playing so much? Lyn Dunn. I mean, I could go on and on—you get it. By the way, also, Nalissa Smith at the end of this season—now, that may take a little while. I’m not sure how that’s going to work with the players. If, say, Lyn Dunn is let go immediately, are player personnel decisions going to be handled by others? It’s usually the GM, so I’m not sure how that might work.
The Nalissa Smith thing might not be handled right away depending on the time frame for, say, leaving players unprotected for the expansion draft—that is different. But if that’s not something that’s an issue, the Nalissa Smith thing may not be figured out until later on if, in fact, Lyn Dunn is let go and then they do the process of hiring another GM, and that GM would be making those decisions.
So, that could very much affect the whole Nalissa Smith situation. But this is a good signal going forward for now, for the Indiana Fever. I want to see when the Fever season ends, Kelly actually starts. Is Lyn Dunn let go? Is Christy Sides let go? Then, to me, that signals, “Okay, we know what really messed up. We’re fixing it now. We’re heading on a different track. We know what the future is going to hold, and we’re going to do everything we can to maximize our chances at winning titles while Caitlyn Clark is here.”
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Fever fans, is this exciting for you? Are you going to be like, “Well, let’s see what happens with the coach and the GM”? If they go, are you like, “Hey, you know what, I was going to check out, but now I’m going to at least start the next season and see what happens with the Indiana Fever”?
