DeWanna Bonner offers heartfelt goodbye after Fever grant her wishes

Indiana Fever forward DeWanna Bonner was waived by the team on Tuesday, one day after a report from Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile emerged that showed Bonner had requested off the team by trade or waiving. Her preferred destinations, per Costabile, were the Phoenix Mercury and Atlanta Dream, but the Fever couldn't find a proper trade suitor.

Now, Bonner can either get claimed off waivers or wait 48 hours to become an unrestricted free agent. And, according to new reporting from Costabile after Bonner was waived, her preference remains to land in Phoenix, and teams are being advised not to claim her off waivers.

Only three teams could match her current salary - the Washington Mystics, the Golden State Valkyries, and the Connecticut Sun - so those are clubs being asked to not claim her.

After being cut from the Fever, Bonner offered a heartfelt message to the team and to fans after her free agency experiment with the team clearly just didn't work out.

The part that might stick out to Fever fans is Bonner explicitly saying what folks had felt was the issue all along - she just didn't end up fitting well with the Fever's current roster, and given her age and experience, she felt well within her right to request a move off Indiana to land with another contender.

Bonner shares heartwarming message as a goodbye to Fever

Bonner, who played in just nine games with the team, averaged 21.3 minutes per game. She was posting a stat line of 7.1 points per game on 34.5 percent shooting from the field overall. Her impact was expected to be a lot greater than what she was able to post off the bench for Indiana, which is probably the best indicator as to how her fit wasn't great with head coach Stephanie White's rotation.

READ MORE: Sneaky destination for Fever's DeWanna Bonner would be beyond unfair

Bonner was a headline-grabbing free agent signing for Indiana, indicating to the league that veterans would want to come and play alongside young stars in Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark. Unfortunately, the experiment just never came to fruition as Bonner was relegated to the bench and hardly got time with Clark to begin the year.

Indiana has done right by a well-respected veteran in the WNBA by allowing her to walk for nothing in return. Hopefully, Bonner is able to find some peace and stability wherever she lands next.