How long can Aari McDonald stay on Indiana Fever? Explaining WNBA hardship contracts

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19 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS – Injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham left the Indiana Fever shorthanded and desperately in need of a ball-handling guard.
Clark, the Fever's starting point guard, has been out since May 26 with a quad strain. Cunningham, one of the players who shared the load at point, has been out with an ankle injury since May 30.
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So, the Fever brought in Aari McDonald on a hardship contract on June 1, and she has impressed in her two games with Indiana so far.
McDonald has been key for the Fever in this stretch, coming off the bench to help Sydney Colson share the point guard duties. She's able to push the pace in transition and is tough defensively, despite her size (5-6).
She had two days to learn the Fever offense before playing against Washington on June 3 and didn't miss a beat.
McDonald played 27 minutes against the Mystics, making an impact on both ends — including drawing three offensive fouls in an eight-minute stretch. She scored seven points with a team-leading five assists and three steals.
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Her June 7 outing against Chicago was even better, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes and adding two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
'She's taken full advantage of her opportunity,' Fever assistant coach Austin Kelly said following Indiana's win over Chicago on Saturday. 'We see it every year: players go down, there are hardship contracts, and she definitely stayed ready. We always talk about staying ready so you don't have to get ready, and she epitomizes that… We couldn't be more proud of her and how she's transitioned, and how she's taken us to another level and allowed us to continue to play the same way we want to play on both ends.'
She has been imperative for the Fever lately. But with Clark and Cunningham nearing their returns, McDonald's time with the Fever is becoming limited.
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How long will Aari McDonald play for Indiana Fever?
McDonald will be able to play for the Fever until either Clark or Cunningham return, which would bring the Fever's roster of available players back up to 10.
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Once there are 10 players available from Indiana's standard roster, McDonald's contract will be automatically terminated.
Caitlin Clark injury update: When will Fever star return? 'We're gonna play the long game'
Sophie Cunningham injury update: Fever cautious hoping to avoid another re-aggravation
Will Aari McDonald be able to stay on Indiana Fever after Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham return?
No. her contract will be terminated by default once either Clark or Cunningham become game-ready, according to Article VII, Section 4, point b(i) of the WNBA collective bargaining agreement (pg. 82).
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'If a Team during the Regular Season, as a result of injuries, illnesses, other conditions or other extenuating circumstances that have affected its players, has fewer than ten (10) players on its roster who are able to play, it may apply to the WNBA to obtain an Exception to sign one or more Replacement Player(s) to Replacement Contract(s) to replace one or more of the Team's unavailable Players,' the collective bargaining agreement reads. 'Any such Replacement Contract shall be terminated immediately once ten (10) other players on the Team's roster are again able to play.'
McDonald is on an emergency hardship contract, which allows teams to go over the roster limit and the cap to sign players if they have fewer than 10 available players. Clark and Cunningham's injuries give Indiana nine available players, thus allowing the Fever to sign one player to a hardship contract to get them back up to 10.
She is considered a 'Replacement Player' through her contract with the Fever and the league. She is not on a standard player contract.
The Fever are not able to waive another player on an unprotected contract once they get up to 10 and keep McDonald instead. As McDonald is on a replacement player contract, hers will need to be the one that is terminated.
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Can Indiana Fever cut other players, bring Aari McDonald back?
The Fever could bring McDonald back, in theory, but it would require a lot of rearranging.
First off, Indiana would need to wait 10 days after terminating her contract to bring her back, according to Article 5, section 14(f) of the CBA. The only exception to that rule is if there was a hardship need, but the Fever will not be in that situation.
Immediately after her contract with the Fever is terminated, too, McDonald is an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team in the league — whether on a standard player contract or hardship contract.
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Indiana also does not have enough cap space in its current structure to pay McDonald. Indiana was able to go over the cap to sign her to a hardship, but the money they paid her for the time she was on the Fever will still count toward the cap.
McDonald is also considered a veteran player, as she has 4+ years of experience, so her minimum pay structure is higher than the base minimum in the league. The full-season player minimum for players 0-3 years is $66,079, while the veteran minimum for players with 4+ years is $78,831. Those amounts are prorated with each passing game, but it still makes McDonald more expensive to sign.
When the Fever would be able to sign her as a 12th player depends on when her replacement contract is terminated, but it likely would not be until at least July.
The Fever also have the option of waiving a player on an unprotected contract if they want to get McDonald back earlier than that. Colson, forward Brianna Turner and rookie forward Makayla Timpson are all on unprotected contracts, but it's unlikely that the Fever would waive them.
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Colson is Clark's direct backup, starting in her place while she's out with injury, and Turner, while she plays minimal minutes currently, will provide crucial depth when Fever backup center Damiris Dantas will miss four games because of a Brazilian national team obligation. The Fever also like Timpson as a development player, and she gets some minutes here and there.
This could also all be null, as well, if McDonald signs with another team in that 10-day period. And based on how she's played for the Fever so far, it wouldn't be surprising if another team picked her up.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at [e-mail] or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How long can Indiana Fever keep Aari McDonald with a hardship contract?