So, Alanna Smith is one of the better players in the WNBA, maybe one of the top 25 players in the league. And do you want to know why she is wearing an Indiana Fever jersey in this picture? Because yes, the Indiana Fever in fact had Alanna Smith on their team. And yes, we know in the pre-Caitlin Clark era, this was a kind of incompetent front office.
A really, really, really incompetent front office. And they let Alanna Smith go, they just cut Alanna Smith. And by the way, they cut Alanna Smith in the middle of a season where they won five games. They won five games. Yes, five games. They were 5 and 30 and they had Alanna Smith.
So they were 5 and 30 and they cut Alanna Smith. Not only that, they had Emily Engstler that year as well and they cut her and I thought Emily Engstler would be a perfect fit for the Indiana Fever. An absolutely perfect fit. The reason why Emily Engstler would be a perfect fit is purely because she is big, she plays defense, and she can shoot the three.
However, Alanna Smith has been exceptional for the Minnesota Lynx. Her stats don’t show the full story, albeit she does average over three stocks per game. She was the defensive player of the year last year alongside A’ja Wilson. Has made, I think, two straight All-Defensive First Teams.
And not only that, she is a really good three-point shooter. She shot 40% the year before on three attempts per game. She shoots the ball incredibly well for the Australian national team. She can shoot. She can really, really shoot the ball. And she is a five that is a defensive five and offensive four.
She was one of the most important players for the Lynx team. I was at the finals in 2024. When she was on the floor, the Lynx were great. When she was off, they were poor. She was more important to how the Lynx functioned than Napheesa Collier. When she was off the floor, they struggled more than when Collier was off the floor.
That being said, let’s take a listen to what Alanna Smith has said about free agency:
“Any opportunity, like I said, I think it’s about best fit. I loved Minnesota, but a lot of teams are looking different this year, so I think I’d be doing a disservice to myself if I wasn’t exploring other opportunities.”
“I loved Minnesota.”
That being said, that is a big one. That is a really, really big one. Saying “I loved Minnesota,” not “I love Minnesota.” At the same time, she’s basically staged a press conference to say she’s exploring free agency. What does that mean? She’s gone.
She’s definitely going to Indiana. There is no more perfect person for the Indiana Fever to bring in than Alanna Smith. She fits way too well beside Aliyah Boston.
And for people that are like Azura Stevens is the better offensive player—not on the same stratosphere of defense as Alanna Smith. Not on the same stratosphere.
The only thing is when it comes to money, my guess is that someone like the Dallas Wings could offer Alanna Smith huge money. A lot of people think the Indiana Fever is the main spot for Azura and Alanna Smith, and based on how teams fit, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Fever takes one of them and the Wings take the other.
When we also look at elite defensive centers who can stretch the floor, these modern centers—Ezi Magbegor is a free agent too.
With Alanna Smith, the one big problem is the free throw shooting. Other than that one year she had in Minnesota where she hit her free throws, she has been a pretty poor free throw shooter in her career. Last year was her best defensive year of her career. By far her worst shooting year.
She is a much better shooter than Natasha Howard. She is a much better defender than Natasha Howard. She is a much better system player than Natasha Howard. She spreads the floor more. She’s better in that role fit.
She’s not a better finisher than Howard. She’s not a better scorer than Howard. She’s not a better rebounder than Howard. That’s what you have Aliyah Boston for. That is why you have Aliyah Boston on your team.
You don’t need Natasha Howard to operate from the same areas as Aliyah Boston. You need somebody like Alanna Smith.
A lot of people talk about Azura, Ezi, and Alanna Smith. I would be hoping the Fever go and get one of those. Why? Because they are all fives with the athleticism to play the four and spread the floor.
You’ve then got a situation where Aliyah Boston has gone from a slow bruising five to one of the fastest bigs in the league. With that, you can now play a mobile center beside Aliyah Boston. You can play Aliyah Boston at the four, but you can’t do that with a bruising center. That just doesn’t work.
You need a mobile, floor-spacing center. That’s where Alanna, Azura, and Ezi come in.
As far as Alanna Smith goes, even if you think Azura is a better target, if we see Alanna Smith sign for the Wings, my guess is Azura probably goes to the Fever. If we see Azura on the Wings, I reckon we see Alanna on the Fever.
My guess is there’s going to be a decent chunk of money in that $750K–$800K range, something the Fever can probably afford on a one-year deal.
So yeah, that is pretty much it. What do you guys think? Do you think the Fever should sign Alanna Smith or not? I’ve always had her in my top three agents for the Indiana Fever. Did not think it was realistic. Thought she was probably going back to the Lynx, but by the sounds of things, she’s gone from the Lynx anyway.
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