Indiana Fever sign Odyssey Sims to hardship contract amid injuries

The Indiana Fever have signed guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract as the WNBA’s stretch drive toward the playoffs unfolds, a move aimed at bolstering a roster depleted by injuries with less than a month to go in the regular season. Sims, a veteran guard who spent the early part of this season with the Los Angeles Sparks before being waived, joins a Fever squad that is navigating a spate of injuries and a tight playoff chase.

Hardship contracts in the WNBA are designed to provide teams with temporary roster relief when fewer than 10 players are available for a given stretch. A team can add a player on a hardship deal after missing players for more than three weeks, and such contracts are not guarantees of a permanent roster spot for the rest of the season. The Fever have faced that exact scenario as injuries have mounted at key positions.

Indiana’s injury toll has been considerable. Sydney Colson tore her left ACL in early August, and Aari McDonald sustained a broken bone in her right foot during the same game, ending both players’ seasons. Caitlin Clark has been out since mid-July with a groin injury, and updates on her status have been sparse. Clark herself has...