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When the Dallas Wings won the lottery and with it the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, most people in and around the league expected to see UConn star Paige Bueckers in a Wings jersey next season. Then, rumors that Bueckers did not want to play in Dallas surfaced and have not gone away ever since. Wings GM Curt Miller recently addressed the rumors, saying that the organization had not heard anything directly from Bueckers about her not wanting to play in Dallas.
The Wings did not have a great offseason. After missing the playoffs, the Wings lost two of their three best players. Natasha Howard signed with the Indiana Fever in free agency, and Satou Sabally was traded to the Phoenix Mercury. Both had made it clear after the conclusion of the 2024 season that they were on their way out. It is never a good sign if two All-Star-level players do not want to be with an organization.
The Wings got some interesting players in return, most notably NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington, but do not look like a contender. Getting Bueckers could change the Wings’ future, but the rumors that she does not want to join the team are picking up again.
The rumors that Paige Bueckers doesn’t want to play in Dallas just won’t go away
Rumors around Bueckers’ draft decision simply refuse to die. Howard Megdal recently shared some reporting on The IX that should have Wings fans worried. It may seem crazy that a player with as much potential as Bueckers would want to avoid the draft, but Megdal’s reporting makes it seem more possible than ever before.
Megdal noted that he was very aware of Bueckers’ statements that she would not return to college but added that a player of her caliber has plenty of options, ranging from simply telling the Wings that she does not want to play there to making her pro debut in the 2026 Unrivaled season before joining the WNBA.
“She has not shared a decision with the Dallas Wings, and multiple WNBA teams tell The IX there is no indication which way she is even leaning at this time,” Megdal writes.
The fact that the uncertainty surrounding Bueckers’ future in the WNBA is not just the result of some wild speculations, but is actually something WNBA teams are thinking and talking about, should worry the Wings. If the rumors become reality, and Dallas misses out on a generational talent simply because she does not want to play there, things could go downhill quickly for the organization. It would not be a good look for the Wings and could hurt their ability to build a winning team around Arike Ogunbowale.
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