No Cap Space WBB Team Previews: Dallas Wings

The first team in our 13 part series previewing the WNBA season is the one that just landed their franchise cornerstone and built a roster around her that can make the playoffs...

Apr 21, 2025

After locking up the first pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Dallas Wings immediately went to work on rebuilding everything. The franchise had already announced that they would be moving from their current home in Arlington to the Memorial Arena in the Dallas convention center downtown. Within that announcement, there’s also the potential for a dedicated team facility near their new home but that’s still a ways away.

However you look at it, the Dallas Wings understood the type of star and celebrity they were getting with the first pick in the draft and acted accordingly. Now comes the hard part: making all of the “good on paper” pieces work on the floor.

2024 Lookback:

9-31 Overall (0-5 Commissioner’s Cup)

Head Coach Latricia Trammell fired

Curt Miller hired as Executive Vice President and General Manager

Chris Koclanes hired as head coach.

2024 Leaders:

Arike Ogunbowale: 22.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.1 SPG

Satou Sabally: 17.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 5.0 APG

Natasha Howard: 17.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.9 APG

Who Left:

Jacy Sheldon (Connecticut Sun via trade)

Satou Sabally, Sevgi Uzun, Kalani Brown (Phoenix Mercury via trade)

Carla Leite (Golden State Valkyries via Expansion Draft)

Natasha Howard (Indiana Fever via Free Agency)

Jaelyn Brown (Indiana Fever via trade)

Stephanie Soares, Paige Robinson (Unsigned)

Who’s Back:

Awak Kuier, Lou Lopez Senechal (Sitting out 2025 Season)

Maddy Siegrist

Teaira McCowan

Arike Ogunbowale

Draft Picks:

Paige Bueckers (Round 1, Pick 1)

Aziaha James (Round 1, Pick 12)

Madison Scott (Round 2, Pick 14)

JJ Quinerly (Round 3, Pick 27)

Aaronette Vonleh (Round 3, Pick 31)

Who’s New:

DiJonai Carrington, Ty Harris (Connecticut Sun via trade)

NaLyssa Smith (Indiana Fever via trade)

Kiki Herbert-Harrigan (Phoenix Mercury via trade)

2025 Strengths:

With Bueckers, Ogunbowale and the additional pieces gathered via trades and free agency, the Dallas backcourt is a clear strength. I’d imagine Chris Koclanes chooses to have Arike play a bit more off ball and be a scoring beneficiary of Paige’s elite IQ and court vision. It’s also worth noting that Ogunbowale is an underrated on-ball defender and, even in a system that didn’t do a ton of defending the last couple years, quite good when she’s set up to succeed. Add in DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris and you get a combination of really good perimeter defending options.

Harris, in particular, feels like a star poised to break out in year five. I thought she had a legitimate case to make for WNBA Most Improved Player last season and feel that, in this system, she could be a sixth woman of the year candidate. Where Carrington slots in will be interesting. Will she be a wing defender or rotate in with Bueckers and Arike to clamp whichever guard the opposition throws out there? It’s a good problem to have if you’re Chris Koclanes especially when you factor in a rookie scorer in Aziaha James and another Carrington-type defender in JJ Quinerly.

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2025 Weaknesses:

While the Wings were able to keep Teaira McCowan and add in NaLyssa Smith and Myisha Hines-Allen, it feels like their front court is lacking star power. Smith will be under the microscope in Dallas, having had a decent if not somewhat controversial year in Indiana in 2024. Before Caitlin Clark’s arrival in the WNBA, there were some issues happening with Smith’s camp (mostly family on Twitter) regarding Aliyah Boston and who was really the number one option. With a change of scenery and no true bonafide star inside, I wonder if Smith enters the year rejuvenated and ready to prove some people wrong.

Hines-Allen is a good rebounding body with a physical makeup despite not having a long and tall frame that can go up against the best (and biggest) forwards and centers in the league. Maddy Siegrist is an effective scorer in the frontcourt but leaves a lot to be desired as a defender while Kiki Herbert-Harrigan is another solid role player but not someone you’re going to confidently throw on someone like Satou Sabally. Rookie Aaronette Vonleh brings height and some size (6’3) but it does feel as though the backcourt is going to have to really lead this Dallas team unless we get a star turn from T-Mac or NaLyssa Smith in ways that we haven’t yet seen in the league.

2025 Outlook:

I’ll give Dallas’ front office and ownership a lot of credit. They didn’t want to slow-play Paige’s rookie year. While the roster moves were swings in certain respects, they emptied the clip in their pursuit of putting as much around their top pick as possible.

Now, there are several questions for the Wings that we’ll get answers to over the course of the season. How good of a coach is Chris Koclanes? Will Paige and Arike be able to co-exist in the backcourt? Will we get the same NaLyssa Smith or a new version? Do we get a step forward from DiJonai Carrington and Ty Harris? Will Maddy Siegrist take a step defensively to match her offensive output?

There’s a ton to figure out but there’s enough seasoned vets and new faces to build out a positive culture in Dallas. As we mentioned in Five Out, the trade of Luka Doncic puts Paige in a unique light within the city to be *the* superstar of DFW sports. If the Wings are able to capitalize on the floor, they may be able to capture the attention and imagination of Dallas sports fans in a way they haven’t done since arriving from Tulsa as a franchise.