Needless to say, members of the Dallas Wings organization were excited to win the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery and, in turn, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, where UConn superstar Paige Bueckers is expected to be the prize. (Although, it should be noted that Bueckers, a redshirt senior, does a have a remaining year of COIVD eligibility.)
On social media, Wings All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale and new general manager Curt Miller offered a mix of gratitude and gloating appropriate for the occasion.
I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD!
— Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) November 17, 2024
But what matters for Miller, Ogunbowale and the rest of the Wings is what they do with this stroke of good fortune. In bringing Bueckers to Dallas, can they turn the Paige?
Since relocating to Texas in 2016, the organization has been defined by dysfunction, disappointment and underachievement, with a carousel of coaches, underdeveloped lottery picks, disillusioned stars and complaints about player care. That doesn’t sound like the ideal environment for a No. 1 pick, especially one as talented as Bueckers. It’s also unfair to expect a No. 1 pick, even one as promising as Bueckers, to steady and salvage a suboptimal organization.
Fortunately, the arrival of Miller suggests the Wings are committed to building an organization that is not just ready to take flight, but to cruise at a contender level for seasons to come. While a pair of injury-plagued seasons prevented Miller from putting his imprint on the Sparks during his two seasons as head coach in Los Angeles, his seven-season stint with the Connecticut Sun, during six of which he also served as general manager, inspires confidence in his ability not just to cultivate competency, but also sustainable success.
Miller says the No. 1 pick has an immediate role of being part of the team’s core group.
Curt references being part of title contending teams that have a core/nucleus of players they build around. He’s looking to bring that strategy as well.
— Jasmine Harper (@harperxxwrites) November 17, 2024
Everything will begin, of course, with the backcourt tandem of Bueckers and Ogunbowale. The pairing is the organization’s orienting compass, from which Miller and his front office, which includes assistant general managers Travis Charles and Jasmine Thomas, can pursue a direction. The next step is hiring new head coach, followed by navigating the forthcoming Golden State expansion draft, where the team can protect six players. After that, it’s free agency, when retaining unrestricted free agent Satou Sabally must be the organization’s top priority.
While Sabally will demand a significant chunk of the team’s $611,573 in cap space, enough will remain to make other impactful moves. However, Miller and company can’t be tempted by a quick fix. Even if the league realities, where the majority of players will be on contracts that expire after the 2025 season due to the impending expiration of the CBA, are not conducive to a long-term team building strategy, Miller should look to carefully construct a younger team around a Bueckers-Ogunbowale-Sabally core that can cohere into a contender.
That’s the approach a special player like Bueckers demands. Otherwise, she’ll follow a long line of former Dallas players who have sought opportunities elsewhere. The pressure that comes with Paige is a privilege. Are the Wings ready to rise to the moment?
