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Since the Dallas Wings drafted Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, it’s been clear she is their future, and the present is all about her development and how the roster fits Bueckers’ needs.
Yet, the Wings have games to play in the present. And this year, the present has involved a lot more defeats than victories. Dallas currently sits at 7-17 on the season, with only the 3-19 Connecticut Sun having a worse win-loss record.
On the bright side, the Wings started the second half of the season off right. They beat the Seattle Storm 87-63 in impressive fashion. Arike Ogunbowale led the team in scoring with 20 points, Bueckers chipped in 14 points and Haley Jones was huge off the bench with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in 31 minutes of play.
If Dallas wants to take a (very long) shot at still reaching the postseason, the time is now to go on a run. Otherwise, they’ll be shutting down players sooner than they’d like. Here’s a look at two priorities and one consideration confronting the Wings as they navigate a (hopefully) more successful second half of the season:
Get the Bueckers-Ogunbowale connection right
There’s no question that the two best players in Dallas are Bueckers and Ogunbowale. They are No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in minutes, points, assists and steals. The hierarchy is also abundantly clear, as Bueckers is No. 1 in all of those stats and Ogunbowale is No. 2.
With Arike set to be an unrestricted free agent in the upcoming offseason, this is the last chance the Wings have to make this duo work before she has to decide on her future.
Can head coach Chris Koclanes find a way to optimize the pair while not isolating the other players on the floor and still win games? That is the question. So far, the individual success has not led to team results, but there is still time to balance this equation out and start stacking up wins.
Ride the Haley Jones wave
Jones first joined the Wings via a hardship contract on June 17. She then was released on June 28 after Dallas’ participating players returned from EuroBasket Women. The team then re-signed her to a rest-of-season contract on July 9.
She’s been a great addition in Dallas. Playing in more of a point-forward role, she’s shooting a career best 52.8 percent from the field, while also defending well in the paint.
Jones is an offensive spark plug coming off the bench and has quickly built great chemistry with Bueckers. During her six games with the Wings, Jones has been assisted by Bueckers on made baskets six times, which is more than any other player on the team.
If Jones can keep this level of play up, she’ll not only re-establish her career, but she can help the Wings end up back in playoff contention.
When do you call it quits?
What happens if the wins never come for the 2025 Wings?
Well, then the conversation gets tougher. At a certain point, you look at the standings and the ground you have to make up and decide if you want to keep pushing or embrace the tank. Of course, no franchise will ever publicly acknowledge tanking, but if the losses build up to the point where you are eliminated from postseason play, you have to consider what’s best for the franchise and your players.
Should Arike still be getting high-volume minutes in meaningless games during a contract year? Do you want to keep putting Paige out there late into the season and risk injury? With the Wings owning their first-round pick for the 2026 draft, it might make sense to quit while you’re behind and get ahead on your future plans by giving yourself the best odds of earning that No. 1 pick.
Koclanes mentioned wanting his team to have urgency during the second half of the season. They certainly did in their first game back from the All-Star break. If they continue to play like that, they won’t have to worry about tanking or draft odds. However, if the losses continue to pile up in what remains of July and as we begin August, then there will be some uncomfortable conversations in Dallas regarding how the season will end.
