The chemistry on the court between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is undeniable. And there are trade scenarios that require either the Dream to part with Reese or the Fever to part with Clark. For now, this dynamic duo will remain opponents unless Clark in particular wants a change.
There's no question that Reese is having the best year of her young career, and moving to the Dream was the catalyst. She was named Defensive Player of the Year, which will garner her a significant contract increase. Plus, she's looking at her first trip to the WNBA Finals, possibly against A'ja Wilson.
Clark, on the other hand, has ended up in roughly the same position she has since signing with the Fever. They made the playoffs, but were ejected early. Much of their season has been dominated by bad press surrounding both their fanbase and Sophie Cunningham's hot takes on a myriad of topics.
The best part of Clark's 2026 WNBA campaign was the break for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. The American team, which featured the now legendary pairing of Clark and Reese, won gold together. After watching them play, every basketball fan wants these two on the same WNBA team.
A trade won't be easy to make happen
So, the WNBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement makes this all really complicated. It has rules in place that will most likely keep Clark locked down in Indiana until 2031. The earliest she could potentially become an unrestricted free agent would be 2030.
Reese faces the exact same CBA obstructions to becoming an unrestricted free agent, not that she wants to. She is having the greatest success of her professional career with the Dream, and will likely continue on that path. Atlanta's backcourt of Rhyne Howard and Allisha Gray is generational.
The way for this to happen in the near future would be a trade between the Fever and the Dream. Realistically, the only asset Indiana has to trade to get Reese would be Clark. That would defeat the purpose of this entire exercise. As such, the Dream would have to trade for Clark, which won't happen.
To pry Clark out of the Fever's clutches, the Dream would have to offer up at least Rhyne and Howard plus draft picks. The problem is gaining Clark would not offset the defensive loss caused by trading Rhyne and Howard. Plus, losing draft picks would make it difficult to build around the new duo.
Does Caitlin Clark need Angel Reese, or does she just need off the Fever?
When Reese was on the Sky, her career was at a standstill. Once she made the move to Atlanta, business picked up. She is by no means a perfect basektball player, but what Reese does well she does incredibly well. With a better team around her, her rise has been meteoric.
Clark is in a similar situationship with the Fever to what Reese had with the Sky. Indiana is a mediocre team with three great players who drag them into the postseason every year. Now, Kelsey Mitchell seems to be looking forward to moving on. Aliyah Boston is in roughly the same position as Clark.
Both Boston and Clark are essentially stuck on the Fever for the next few seasons. And unless Indiana does some serious rebuilding around this pair, they can expect to get bounced from the playoffs in the first round for the next few seasons. Winning a title in Indiana is unlikely at best.
Eventually, Clark will become a UFA, then follow Mitchell's path away from the Fever. At that point, she could finally become teammates with Reese. Until then, Clark will just have to enjoy the millions of dollars she makes from endorsements and gold medals from international competitions.
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