The re-signing of Erica Wheeler by the Indiana Fever shows their intentions of how they are going to get of the bottom of the ladder.

The Indiana Fever have re-signed four-year guard Erica Wheeler. This shows that they are intent on riding this time out by rebuilding through the draft. They have assembled a nice young unit with the likes of Victoria Vivians, Kelsey Mitchell, Stephanie Mavunga, Betnijah Laney and Natalie Achonwa.

They still have the veterans Candice Dupree, Kayla Alexander, Tiffany Mitchell and welcome back Shenise Johnson. Add to this they have the third pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. The future does not look rosy yet but there is certainly light at the end of the tunnel.

I will admit, when I did the pre free agency breakdown I thought that Wheeler should not be re-signed but that was only due to wanting the Fever to sign another player so the Fever might expedite the rebuild. Wheeler lost her starting role last year and appeared to be expendable.

However, the spark that she can bring from the bench cannot be underestimated. With Johnson coming back, Wheelers slightly streaky play at times is less of an issue. Wheeler only averaged 7.8 points, 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game.

Her shooting percentage was down at 35.1 percent from floor. This was not helped by shooting a lowly 27.6 percent from deep. There are a number of reasons for this, however, with the return of Johnson, Wheeler will get better looks, earlier in the clock.

Re-signing Wheeler, who is only going to become more consistent the further into her WNBA career she goes is a solid piece to the puzzle. She can lead the bench unit with Tiffany Mitchell meaning the Fever will have a really solid guard core. This will allow the younger players a less presured environment to develop, leading to organic growth.

For full free agency coverage check out our 2019 free agency central.

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