WNBA: How can the Wings prepare for No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers?

Just one year removed from a second-place Western Conference finish, the Dallas Wings’ 9-31 record was one of the most underwhelming storylines of the 2024 WNBA season.

Through their tribulations they were rewarded with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, which looks eerily like the silhouette of generational UConn combo guard Paige Bueckers. The looming question of their offseason, however, is can you build around the thought of a player?

Here’s where the Wings stand entering the free agency period, as well as a look at where they might go:

Facts and figures*

Players under contract (contract status; 2025 salary)

• Kalani Brown (protected veteran; $128,750)
• Teaira McCowan (protected veteran; $201,400)
• Arike Ogunbowale (protected veteran; $249,032)
• Lou Lopez Sénéchal (unprotected; $79,999)
• Jacy Sheldon (unprotected; $74,909)
• Maddy Siegrist (unprotected; $83,371)

Free agents (type; 2024 salary)

• Jaelyn Brown (reserved; $64,154)
• Natasha Howard (unrestricted; $234,350)
• Awak Kuier (contract expired)
• Satou Sabally (unrestricted; $195,000)
• Sevgi Uzun (reserved; $64,154)

Total salary of free agents: $557,658

Total team salary: $895,527

Cap space: $611,573

Unsigned draftees (2025 salary)

2025 WNBA Draft picks (2024 salary)

• Round 1, No. 1 ($78,831)
• Round 2, No. 14 ($69,267)
• Round 3, No. 27 ($66,079)
• Round 3, No. 31 ($66,079)

Still room for Satou?

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

Fans tapped into the league’s workings know that the biggest challenge of the Wings’ winter revolves around German power forward Satou Sabally.

Sabally, a five-year league veteran and two-time All-Star, has been the running mate of Arike Ogunbowale since being drafted in 2020. However, all signs suggest that she may be seeking a change of scenery before the spring. Dallas can core her, and hope that the prospect of Bueckers discourages her from trying to force her way out with a trade. Alternatively, the organization could allow the Sabally ship to sail and look in new directions at the forward spot. The former is much more likely. While Sabally’s usage would take a hit behind a Ogunbowale-Bueckers backcourt, her efficiency and effectiveness would likely be enhanced in an off-ball role.

10-year veteran forward Natasha Howard’s contract also is expiring, and a core designation for Sabally would likely mark the end of Howard’s tenure in the Lone Star State. She’ll turn 34 next season, and her experience doesn’t fit the Wings’ projected timeline in a way that would warrant a new contract. They could throw an offer at Howard to help phase in the new generation of Wings, but she undoubtedly would be taking minutes from a younger forward who may fit their timeline to contention better. Howard also sustained a foot injury last season, and questions around her health have merit. Whether the Wings extend an offer to Howard may give insight into how they view their immediate future as contenders or rebuilders.

New lanes of production

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

If either of Howard or Sabally don’t return to Dallas, the team will need to re-evaluate the production from their forwards and centers.

Teaira McCowan has had an unbelievably consistent career on offense, but is a limited floor spacer and a disappointing defender, especially considering her 6-foot-7 frame. If the Wings want to enable Ogunbowale as a driver further, they may consider a new look at center and move McCowan to the bench. There’s not enough evidence to suggest how first-year head coach Chris Koclanes feels about non-spacing bigs, but new general manager Curt Miller made it an emphasis to have shooting bigs in his recent time as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks. Under Miller, both Cameron Brink and Li Yueru had the green light to fire from distance and pop out of screens as perimeter threats. Any offseason move at center may indicate whether Koclanes shares Miller’s vision.

At the guard spot, the Wings may look to add some off-ball firepower, ideally someone who could thrive behind two ball-dominant guards. Investing in a free agent like Aerial Powers, most recently of the Atlanta Dream, could be a worthwhile venture. Powers shot 39 percent from 3 in 17 appearances last season. Catch-and-shoot guards and wings are extremely valuable to teams that have the luxury of on-ball excellence. A player like Powers or the Washington Mystics’ Shatori Walker-Kimbrough could fit nicely in Dallas.

And if Paige is not the pick?

Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images

Finally, there’s a very particular stone that I don’t want to leave unturned, although I would certainly be forgiven by most for not acknowledging this possibility.

The Dallas Wings may not take Paige Bueckers at all. If, for some reason, they really dislike her fit with Ogunbowale, or truly believe that someone like USC’s Kiki Iriafen is the better prospect, they could shock the world on draft night. If Iriafen goes No. 1 overall to Dallas, the fit of Sabally becomes increasingly awkward, and the organization’s focus would likely shift toward extended backcourt production. Koclanes may have some affinity for Iriafen as he coached her at USC, but barring a trade backwards in the draft, don’t put any money on Iriafen coming to Dallas.

*Thanks to Her Hoop Stats for all roster information and salary numbers.