‘This is my DNA.’ Fever architect Kelly Krauskopf returns to Fever after 6 years away

INDIANAPOLIS — Kelly Krauskopf knows the game of basketball.

With 25 years between the WNBA and NBA, she knows how to navigate the ins and outs of the league front offices. She knows what goes into negotiating with players, talking with agents, balancing payroll, anything a front office needs to do. She’s been doing it for longer than a lot of the Fever’s own players have been alive.

That’s who the Fever have as their new president of basketball operations.

“I love the game,” Krauskopf said at her introductory press conference on Tuesday morning. “I mean, this is my DNA. Everything about running a team, running a basketball program, if you will, it’s really who I am. It’s my passion.”

Krauskopf worked as the Fever’s president and general manager from 2000-18, building the franchise from the ground up when it started. Then, in 2018, she moved across the street to the Indiana Pacers as an assistant general manager, becoming the first woman in the NBA to hold an executive basketball management role, according to the team.

Now, with former team president Allison Barber moving on to lead the Marvella Project, which aims to empower girls and women in Indiana through sports, Krauskopf is returning to the franchise she built to be a perennial contender.

“This is a winning franchise,” Krauskopf said. “We’ve had constant success of winning and being in the playoffs. And, you know, my plan is to return us to that level of consistency. And that takes commitment, that takes players that really are invested in being great players and being a great team.”

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Krauskopf was the executive who built the 2012 team that won the WNBA Championship. She built a team around superstar Tamika Catchings, the 2011 MVP, and got the Fever to 12 straight playoff appearances from 2005-16.

Caitlin Clark can bring free agents to Indiana Fever

Now, Krauskopf has another franchise player to build around in No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

“I would think that if you are a smart basketball player and you watch the way she plays, you would want to play with her,” Krauskopf said. “… I think it’s an easy picture to paint to free agents.”

What will Amber Cox’s role be with the Indiana Fever

Krauskopf will work with Amber Cox, the Fever’s new Chief Operating Officer and General Manager, to build a strong Fever team once more.

The Fever announced last week that Lin Dunn, who had been general manager since 2021, was moving to a senior advisor role for Fever Basketball. Indiana then hired Cox, who had previously worked in the front offices of the Phoenix Mercury and the Dallas Wings.

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“She’s going to be doing a lot of the day-to-day groundwork,” Krauskopf said. “We’re both going to be talking to agents, we’re both going to be talking to the team. We’ll be making those basketball decisions together, and certainly have our scouts out and making sure that we’re covering what we need to cover.”

Dunn, who is 77 years old, came out of retirement to become the interim GM of the Fever in 2021, then got the role full-time in 2022. According to the Next, Dunn always wanted to do the job for just long enough that she could bring stability to the franchise.

With two No. 1 picks, two Rookies of the Year, and a playoff berth, Dunn did her job. Now, with a different role within the franchise, Dunn said on X that Cox’s hiring was “a GREAT move! Amber and Kelly are going to take the Fever forward.”

Dunn told Krauskopf she’d do whatever the new president needed. Even in her new role, Krauskopf said she and Cox will be coming to Dunn for advice frequently.

“I think she’s thrilled that there’s a path of succession, there’s a leadership group that we have set up to continue moving and create stability and consistency,” Krauskopf said. “Lin is a lifer. She’s a lifer Fever, she’s a lifer in this game … she has so much knowledge and insight into needs of teams and rosters that we’ll be leaning on her quite a bit.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever: Kelly Krauskopf returns to Fever after 6 years away