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The Indiana Fever have been the most aggressive team this offseason. They know they have something special going on with Caitlin Clark, and they don't want to wait much longer before she gets a taste of the WNBA Finals.
That's why they decided to make a run at proven veterans, including one familiar face: Natasha Howard.
Likewise, Howard also realized it was time to put herself first and make a "selfish" business decision. Talking to IndyStar, she revealed that her wife, Jac'Eil Duckworth Howard, urged her to do what she really wanted to do.
“It's just amazing to have someone that understands me as a person first,” Howard told IndyStar of her wife. “She told me, ‘This is your year to be selfish,’ and I see it now because I've been selfless long enough when it comes to my career for other teams, and I never got the return back.”
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This is huge for someone who has been traded four times in her 12-year WNBA career. Now, she got to call the shots and go somewhere she felt appreciated, and she signed a max deal with the Fever.
This is a homecoming for Natasha Howard
This decision was full circle for Natasha Howard. She'll be reunited with coach Stephanie White, team president Kelly Krauskopf and GM Amber Cox, and she'll finally get to play for the team that drafted them with the No. 5 pick back in 2014.
The 33-year-old is a three-time WNBA champion and one of the best defensive players of her generation. However, she feels the Fever didn't only want her for her résumé or proven skills but also for who she is.
“I’m really happy that they see my talent and they appreciate me as a person, so they’re doing everything to put my face out there,” Howard told IndyStar.
“So, I'm just really, really happy and just grateful that I'm just a part of Indiana again, the Fever again, it’s just like a whole 360. And it's just amazing to be back where I started.”
The Fever are looking like one of the teams to beat ahead of the upcoming campaign.
