Former Indiana Fever wing joining Seattle Storm is a win-win move

Katie Lue Samuelson is headed to the Seattle Storm, Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press reported on Thursday. It’s the latest move in a busy WNBA free agency, and one that seems to benefit both the veteran forward and a Seattle organization looking to contend next season.

Samuelson, a 27-year-old wing, most recently played for the Indiana Fever. But, fresh off of maternity leave, she saw a diminished role last season — averaging the lowest minutes (18.2) and field goal percentage (34.9%) since her rookie. Samuelson signed a two-year, $355,000 deal with the Fever ahead of last season, and Indiana agreed to a buy-out earlier this month.

If Samuelson were to return, she likely would have seen an even more diminished role next year. The Fever have a myriad of starting-level guards/wings on next year’s roster, a list that includes Caitlin Clark, DeWanna Bonner, Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull, Sophie Cunningham. Clark, Bonner, and Mitchell are all All-Stars, while Hull and Cunningham were two of the league’s elite role players.

Samuelson becomes the second Fever player from last year’s roster to join Seattle, with guard Erica Wheeler being the other. Right away, she should be able to provide the Storm with another lengthy shooter; in her four-year career at the University of Connecticut, Samuelson averaged 16.7 points per game and shot 41.5% from the field.

But, her collegiate success hasn’t yet perfectly translated to her 5-year WNBA career, Samuelson has averaged 5.9 points in 20.1 minutes per game. She’s shot 38.9% from the field and 33.6% from three. She’s enjoyed stints with five teams: the Chicago Sky (2019), Dallas Wings (2020), Seattle Storm (2021) Los Angeles Sparks (2022), and Fever (2024). Her return to Seattle marks the first time she’ll be returning to a WNBA organization for a second season.

Currently, Samuelson is playing in Unrivaled, where she’s averaged 6.6 points in 9.5 minutes per game for the Phantom.

This offseason, the Storm re-signed Nneka Ogumwike and Gabby Williams, in moves that indicated they are content with mostly running it back with last year’s core. Ezi Magbegor and Skylar Diggins-Smith were already under contract heading into next season, Seattle received the No. 2 pick and Li Yueru for Jewell Loyd, who requested a trade.

Seattle has also reshaped their bench of late, trading for Sparks guard Lexie Brown and signing former Sixth Player of the Year Alysha Clark in free agency. They lost both Jordan Horston and Nika Muhl to ACL tears, and thus will benefit from a player like Samuelson who can provide additional depth.

Samuelson’s signing could ultimately benefit both parties. She joins an organization that could use her shooting and likely needs her shooting off the bench. And, while Seattle was swept by the Aces in the first round of the playoffs last year after finishing with the WNBA’s fifth seed, the Storm are a win-now team that could contend for a championship if all the pieces come together. They were also one of the first organizations in the league to have their own state-of-the-art practice facility.