Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever guard Kysre Gondrezick explained that she stepped away from the WNBA during her rookie season for mental health reasons in a social media post on Monday.

"After losing my father, the pressure began to mount for what I considered my job as a facet of grieving, I wasn't present to the idea of efficiently knowing how to cope," she wrote. "I was so happy and proud of reaching one of my personal goals of playing in the WNBA, yet I lost sight of his presence, my focus, and ultimately, the fun in the game."

She added, "For the last five months, I placed a pause on social life and additional activities to get the help and support for my mental health and well-being."

The Fever selected Gondrezick with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2021 WNBA draft.

She played collegiately for the Michigan Wolverines and West Virginia Mountaineers and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection before transferring to the Big 12 program. She continued her success at West Virginia as a two-time all-conference selection.

Gondrezick appeared in 19 contests as a rookie and averaged 1.9 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.4 steals per game.

Her father, Grant, died in January.

The Phoenix Suns selected Grant Gondrezick with a fourth-round pick in the 1986 NBA draft. He played for the Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers during his NBA career.

As for the Fever, they went 6-26 during the 2021 campaign.

The Indiana Fever announced Sunday they've placed power forward Lauren Cox on waivers.

Cox, the third overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, was averaging just 8.6 minutes across 11 appearances off the bench for the Fever during the 2021 season.

The 23-year-old Baylor product was a key contributor across four seasons with the Bears. She averaged 12 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.3 blocks in 131 college games (95 starts) to earn her status as a high draft pick. 

She missed the start of her rookie season in the WNBA after being diagnosed with COVID-19, however, and was limited to 14 appearances before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

In April, Cox confirmed she was healthy and ready for a fresh start in 2021 after the tumultuous debut year.

"I think, not just the last few days of training camp but just the last couple months for me I've learned that I can pretty much get through anything," Cox said. "I had the injury towards the end of the season last year. I had COVID before even going to the 'wubble,' so I've been through a lot in the past year. [I've learned] resiliency, just getting through anything."

She struggled to earn a consistent role within the Indiana rotation, though. Teaira McCowan, Jessica Breland and Jantel Lavender have handled a majority of the frontcourt minutes during the team's first 16 games.

That said, it's a bit surprising the Fever weren't willing to give a top-five pick from last year a little more opportunity to develop given their league-worst 1-15 record.

Cox averaged 1.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in the limited minutes this season.

The Texas native shouldn't have much trouble attracting interest either on the waiver wire or as a free agent once she clears waivers.

Indiana Fever rookie Kysre Gondrezick has agreed to an endorsement contract with Adidas.

Per ESPN's Nick DePaula, Adidas will sign Gondrezick to a multiyear shoe deal that is expected to give her a "lead role as the face of the next generation" of basketball for the company. 

A two-year starter at West Virginia University, Gondrezick was named to the All-Big 12 first team as a redshirt senior in 2020-21. She averaged 19.5 points on 36.4 percent three-point shooting and 4.5 assists per game in 28 starts.

After declaring for the WNBA draft in March, Gondrezick was selected No. 4 overall by the Fever. She joins a backcourt that already features Kelsey Mitchell, Tiffany Mitchell and Julie Allemand. 

Gondrezick will be tasked with helping turn around an Indiana franchise that has finished under .500 and hasn't made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. 

The Fever will begin the 2021 season on May 14 against the New York Liberty at the Barclays Center.