2024-25 WNBA Offseason Guides: Dallas Wings
2024-25 WNBA Offseason Guides: Dallas Wings
Our team-by-team series looking forward to the upcoming WNBA offseason and 2025 continues with the latest team eliminated from playoff contention, the Dallas Wings
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Previously published 2024-25 Offseason Guides:
2024 record: Currently 9-28, eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday at 9-26.
2025 draft picks: Thanks to part of the 2023 trade that sent Marina Mabrey to Chicago, Dallas owns swap rights to the Sky's 2025 first-round pick. So the Wings will get whichever is better between their pick and Chicago's. They also still have their own second and third round picks, plus an extra third-rounder from Atlanta thanks to the Crystal Dangerfield trade just before this season.
Free agents: Natasha Howard (uncoreable unrestricted free agent), Satou Sabally (unrestricted free agent), Jaelyn Brown (reserved), Sevgi Uzun (reserved), Awak Kuier (suspended - contract expired).
Under contract for 2025: Arike Ogunbowale, Teaira McCowan, Kalani Brown, Maddy Siegrist, Lou Lopez Sénéchal, Stephanie Soares, Jacy Sheldon.
2024 performance: It doesn't feel like an exaggeration to call the 2024 season a disaster for the Dallas Wings. In 2023 they'd finished above .500 for the first time since the franchise moved to Dallas, finished the regular season as the No. 4 seed, and even won a playoff series. It looked like they were a young team on the rise, who'd finally found a head coach who could get through to Arike Ogunbowale, and had another developing superstar alongside her in Satou Sabally. Then Sabally got hurt (yet again) in the offseason, leaving her unavailable until after the Olympics, and Natasha Howard broke her foot in the opening game of the season. Combined with the mess they created for themselves at point guard and some other injuries along the way, that left the Wings in a difficult situation. You can argue over whether they should've been as bad as they were despite those missing pieces, but it led to serious underperformance compared to where the franchise expected to be in 2024 (especially on the defensive end, where they've been awful all season).
With everyone back healthy there was a brief moment of optimism in late August when they strung three wins together, but that was swiftly doused by yet another string of losses. Hardship signings Odyssey Sims and Monique Billings, who'd been important pieces in the first half of the season, had to be released over the break when the main roster players returned. But either Sims and Billings didn't want to return, or the team had no interest in making the necessary deals to create the roster and cap space necessary to bring them back. At times, the remaining players performed like they'd seen that as a signal that the front office had given up on the 2024 season, so they might as well give up too. It's been a limp finish to a thoroughly disappointing year.
Offseason finances: The Wings have seven players under contract for 2025 and a seemingly huge cache of cap space amounting to $611,573. However, it's not quite as much as that may appear at first glance. Both Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard are unrestricted free agents and are key parts of the team - even if Sabally has suffered a string of injuries and Howard is now 33 years old. They'll likely use their core designation on Sabally because, despite the missed time, she's still far too good and far too valuable to let walk away for free. That immediately swallows $249,244 of that cap space via the core qualifying offer (although she's allowed to sign for less if she wants to). Howard can't be cored due to the number of years she's already played under the core designation (and they'd presumably prioritise Sabally over her anyway). So they'll either have to hope she wants to stay or find a way to replace her.
Dallas has never exactly been a free agent destination since the Wings moved there, with the vast majority of their players being acquired either through the draft or via trade. Maybe they think a forward pairing of Sabally and Maddy Siegrist could take over from Howard even without signing a direct replacement, but they already struggled defensively this year. If Howard walks away they'll surely at least try to spend some of that space in free agency, even if they may have to take a calculated gamble on someone in the second or third tier of available options.
Offseason priorities: As with Los Angeles, initially Dallas will be desperately hoping for some lottery luck. They can't catch the Sparks for the individual top spot in the lottery standings, and results over the final week of the season will decide the very tight race for second, third and fourth. But if Chicago were to miss the playoffs as well, Dallas could theoretically still have the chance to jump up to the 2025 No. 1 overall pick via their own odds or the Sky's. Second plus third in the lottery standings would mean a 45.4% chance at the top pick, versus LA's 44.2% chance from the top spot on its own.
Jumping to No. 1 would likely fix a problem the Wings have had for years - the point guard position. They'd presumably hand it over to Paige Bueckers and then get to work on figuring out how a backcourt of her and Arike Ogunbowale would mesh. If they don't get that pick, they'll once again have to address it elsewhere. Jacy Sheldon has done everything she could as a rookie, but she isn't really a point guard. Sevgi Uzun is, but has struggled with the step up to WNBA level. Odyssey Sims will be available again but may be tired of being messed around by this franchise, although if they actually committed to her, maybe that could change.
The decision on whether to core Sabally seems a straightforward “yes”. Unless she just signs the core qualifying offer immediately, getting a deal done with her will be the priority, followed by trying to talk Howard into staying (assuming neither signs an extension before the end of the regular season). They will likely put much of this season's poor performance down to the injuries, and therefore try to retain their core and hope 2023 was more reflective of their true level.
From a more overarching perspective, that's what the Wings have to decide this offseason. Was 2024 a plane crash scenario where so many things went wrong and cascaded on top of each other to create an outlier of a negative result? Or was this reflective of where they actually are, made a little worse by the injuries? If it's the latter, then head coach Latricia Trammell's job is definitely in jeopardy, and one of the highest offseason priorities would be identifying the right replacement. It could also mean a reassessment of the entire roster and approach, especially if Sabally indicates she wants to leave and they start investigating trade scenarios for her (or even for Ogunbowale). They have to fix the dreadful defense, something that was supposed to be Trammell's speciality when she was hired. They have to decide if Trammell can do that with a healthier roster, if putting someone else in charge might work, or if they need to make wholesale changes to the roster regardless of the coaches. It's not an easy offseason to face after how 2024 has played out.
Future assets: Dallas's 2026 draft picks are currently simple, still holding all their own and no extras. They do have the rights to some players who weren't around this year. Former No. 2 overall pick Awak Kuier skipped the 2024 WNBA season to finally get some rest and could return to try the WNBA again. They also drafted young French guard Carla Leite at No. 9 overall this year, a player who's shown some real potential. She's too inexperienced to assume she could walk into a WNBA starting spot if she committed to showing up, but does at least offer another potential backcourt option. They also still hold the rights to third-rounder Paige Robinson from the 2023 draft, but at this point those look unlikely to be worth much.
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Another excellent article. Since Greg Bibb won't fire himself, Trammell is an easy sacrifice. I can't see Howard staying when she can get the same money, or very close, from a good team. The wasted pick of Jacy Sheldon will haunt this team for a long time unless they get lucky and land Bueckers. I'm guessing Sabally won't prioritize the W if the Wings remain crummy, but you never know. If they had Angel Reese instead of Sheldon, the picture would be prettier.
Richard, thank you again for your thorough analysis. I shall say it bluntly, this team is a disaster. Maddy Siegrist would excel with just about any other team - she's a great talent, but when you are on a team with a ball hog who everyone stands and watches, it affects the cohesiveness of play. And as a UConn fan, I feel for Lou Lopez-Senechal who is not even given a chance. I pray and pray that LA gets the 1st pick because Paige would suffer on that team. My prediction once the season ends - Latricia Trammell is dismissed.