5 major decisions president Kelly Krauskopf must address as she returns to lead Indiana Fever feat. re-signing Kelsey Mitchell

Longtime basketball executive Kelly Krauskopf has returned to the Indiana Fever front office as the new president for basketball and business operations. She rejoins an organization that experienced a boom across levels in the ongoing WNBA season.

Texas native Krauskopf oversaw the affairs of the franchise from 2000 to 2018, winning the WNBA title in 2012 and seeing the team reach the Finals in 2009 and 2015. She's coming off a stint as the assistant general manager of the Indiana Pacers in the NBA.

Following her Fever return, Krauskopf will be counted on to make decisions needed to make Indiana a steady and notable force in the WNBA. Below are what some of the decisions the returning Indiana Fever president has to make.

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Five key decisions president Kelly Krauskopf must address in Indiana Fever return

#5 Build on the newfound popularity of the Fever

Krauskopf returns to the Fever under a considerably improved situation as one of the league's hottest, if not the hottest, draws, thanks to the arrival of the uber-popular Caitlin Clark.

In the ongoing season, appreciation for the team, including game attendance, merchandise sales, TV viewership and social media engagement, has seen multi-fold improvements from previous seasons.

The new president must work with her team in trying to sustain or improve on these, by making the Fever product continuously fan-friendly and worth everybody's while.

#4 Find veteran players who can help the team

On the lead of rookie Caitlin Clark, the Fever created a large ripple in the ongoing season that culminated in the team making the playoffs for the first time in eight years. In the postseason, though, their lack of experience was exposed by the Connecticut Sun, who swept them in the opening round.

Krauskopf must now find a way to address that by bringing on board offseason veterans who could provide added stability.

#3 Re-sign Kelsey Mitchell

In looking for veteran help, Krauskopf and the team need not look too far to get one by re-signing All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell, who's going to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Her retention is very important for continuity after she played an integral part playing alongside Clark this season, averaging 19.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 40 games.

However, beyond the numbers, Mitchell has seemingly created a special bond on the court with Clark, which bodes well for the Indiana Fever.

#2 Get the Fever better defensively

Offensively, the Indiana Fever are solid with the triumvirate of Clark, Mitchell and Aliyah Boston leading. But to be truly elite in the WNBA, they must complement it with a steady play on the defensive end.

In the ongoing season, the team ranked near the bottom in points allowed to opponents, with 87.7 ppg, just above the Dallas Wings' league-worst 92.1 points. The numbers, too, for field goal percentage defense, 3-point defense, and opponents assists and turnovers were not good and need improvement.

#1 Make Caitlin Clark continue to play inspired ball

It goes without saying that the Indiana Fever is now in the Caitlin Clark era and can take the team to places. So, it's important to have her continue playing inspired ball.

To achieve that, Krauskopf must surround Clark with players who want to play with her and vice versa to get the full and desired effect.

They have it covered with the likes of Mitchell, Boston, Lexie Hull, Temi Fagbenle and Katie Lou Samuelson but need to shore it up by tapping players in free agency or trade.