Like almost all WNBA teams, Los Angeles Sparks had to make difficult choices to finalize their 2025 list. Aari McDonald was one of the last -minute victims. She was cut alongside Maria Kliundikova and Shaneice Swain before the opening of the Sparks season against the Golden State Valkyries.
Cutting Aari McDonald was a fairly surprising decision of sparks. It had been a solid safeguard leader in the previous four seasons, including a passage of 26 games with the sparks in 2024. To date, the movement seems quite bad, because McDonald prosperous with Indiana fever and sparks are in difficulty.
Aari McDonald won a contract with fever
After the Sparks gave it up, McDonald had to enter the season without the WNBA contract. When the fever encountered injury problems, she obtained a difficulty contract and immediately impressed. However, the hands of the fever were attached and, when Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham returned from an injury, they had to cut McDonald.
A blow for fever was a blessing for McDonald. Dewanna Bonner, the addition of the offseason of Indiana, decided that she no longer wanted to play for fever. Rather than exchanging it, Indiana cut off and immediately re-signed McDonald, giving it another chance.
It was a brilliant decision. McDonald provides defense, game creation and dynamic notation for a fever team that needs all these things. She scored two figures in five consecutive games with fever, including a huge 74-59 victory against Minnesota Lynx in the commissioner’s cup final. With Clark, McDonald started and did not disappoint.
In just six games, McDonald won a place as a fever backup goalkeeper and made the sparks stupid to have given up.
The rotation of the Sparks Guard is thin behind Kelsey Plum
Kelsey Plum was excellent for sparks, with an average of 20.6 points, 3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 interceptions per game. The rotation of the guard behind it was rather thin, however.
Odyssey Sims had to miss a handful of matches for personal reasons, Julie German played for Belgium in Eurobasket, Rae Burrell underwent a leg injury which will keep her from four to six weeks to a minute in the first match of the Sparks, Sarah Ashlee Barker is a rookie, and Shey Peddy has just joined the Sparks Match there are six games.
The Sims, Barker and Peddy were solid when available, but none of them was as good as Aari McDonald was for Indiana fever. With hindsight, sparks would probably have been better to keep McDonald on the list.
