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Dallas Wings, part 2

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With at least 63 losses over two years, Dallas secures the highest odds for the #1 pick in the 2026 draft.

At this point, Dallas discussions would naturally gravitate to what would Curt Miller do?
Could he emulate the Valkyrie’s really remarkable example in the 2026 league reset?
  • (1) Who, besides Paige and Maddie, are the 6 players (a) Dallas needs to protect in the expansion draft?
  • (2) Is Arike a core-protect-sign-and-trade player? If she is, who should Dallas trade her for?
  • (3) Who does Dallas draft (c) in the 2026 WNBA draft?
  • (4) Will the new CBA alter the WNBA prioritization rule and make available players like Awak Kuier, Lou LS and Emma Meesseman?
  • (5) Who are the non-sticky and gettable, immediately impactful veterans (b) that Dallas should target and at what positions?
  • (6) Who are the non-free agent unprotected players (a) that Dallas hopes the expansion team doesn’t draft and Dallas hopes to keep?
  • (7) And what about Koclanes?
 
This was mentioned in Post #25 as something to consider well. I personally think it is very ironic that we read so many negative comments here on the Boneyard about Ogunbowale, and yet we also would consider a scenario in which the Wings would make an arbitration argument that she is so essential to the franchise, that she basically IS THE FRANCHISE, and as such it would be such a hardship that the WNBA is required to void her free agency. In doing so, force her to resign a contract with the Wings, and for no other reason than to hopefully trade her for some draft choice?

Here is the thing, EVERY veteran player is a free agent next season (I guess with the exception of those who may be Cored). So, given that there will be so many on the market, why would any other program want to trade for Arike, when they might simply be able to negotiate with one of the eighty or so other free agents? What kind of trade value would she really carry? And what if there are no other teams willing to trade anything, what then?
 
This is a first year head coach. I don't believe that he is very good at the X's and O's of the game; he is just not a very experienced tactician in these regards. Is he getting better? I don't know that he is, but possibly. In the past month he has been struggling to field enough players from the injury list to simply not forfeit the games, so it makes things really hard to judge. The team is losing a lot, but they are competitive in every single loss, just do not have the grit to get it across the finish line.

Is he respected by the players?
Is he an asset for the players?
Is he an asset for the program?
Is he going to continue to improve?

I just don't know enough about him to have an informed opinion.
 
Who does Dallas draft (c) in the 2026 WNBA draft?

When is the draft?
When is the CBA going to be over, allowing for teams to start negotiating with all of the eighty some odd free agents?

Which comes first - the chicken or the egg?
 
NycUcWbbFan said:
With at least 63 losses over two years, Dallas secures the highest odds for the #1 pick in the 2026 draft.

At this point, Dallas discussions would naturally gravitate to what would Curt Miller do?
Could he emulate the Valkyrie’s really remarkable example in the 2026 league reset?
  • (1) Who, besides Paige and Maddie, are the 6 players (a) Dallas needs to protect in the expansion draft?
  • (2) Is Arike a core-protect-sign-and-trade player? If she is, who should Dallas trade her for?
  • (3) Who does Dallas draft (c) in the 2026 WNBA draft?
  • (4) Will the new CBA alter the WNBA prioritization rule and make available players like Awak Kuier, Lou LS and Emma Meesseman?
  • (5) Who are the non-sticky and gettable, immediately impactful veterans (b) that Dallas should target and at what positions?
  • (6) Who are the non-free agent unprotected players (a) that Dallas hopes the expansion team doesn’t draft and Dallas hopes to keep?
  • (7) And what about Koclanes?
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She's a player I'd like to see play in the WNBA again. It would be interesting to see her back in the WNBA on a roster that was better suited to her skillset.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
40% closes Chicago 25% Yeah, not odds but best I can do.

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2026 WNBA Draft Lottery Odds | Tankathon

Detailed 2026 WNBA lottery odds. View the current odds for each lottery spot to get specific picks. See the chances that a pick is traded based on position.
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Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that Dallas was sorta guaranteed a top 3 pick. While it's not 3 To See level, I do like the presumed top 4 picks (Azzi, Lauren betts, Awa Fam, Olivia Miles). I also really like Taniya Latson and kinda think she would also be a good fit next to Paige. I know she's a bit on the small end but she seems to be a really good athlete. If Kelsey Plum can get by at that size perhaps she can too.
I feel like Big Mama Stef would be a great fit in Dallas. But right now they are losing games by 20 plus. I can't lie, I'm a bit concerned. It's ok that it may take time to make the playoffs. I think DT literally missed the playoffs her first 3 years. But they haven't been competitive in a lot of games. Paige has kinda talked in post games about building a foundation, but as noted the team can look 90 percent different. Idk if pros is like college in that sense.
 
jdote33 said:
Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that Dallas was sorta guaranteed a top 3 pick. While it's not 3 To See level, I do like the presumed top 4 picks (Azzi, Lauren betts, Awa Fam, Olivia Miles). I also really like Taniya Latson and kinda think she would also be a good fit next to Paige. I know she's a bit on the small end but she seems to be a really good athlete. If Kelsey Plum can get by at that size perhaps she can too.
I feel like Big Mama Stef would be a great fit in Dallas. But right now they are losing games by 20 plus. I can't lie, I'm a bit concerned. It's ok that it may take time to make the playoffs. I think DT literally missed the playoffs her first 3 years. But they haven't been competitive in a lot of games. Paige has kinda talked in post games about building a foundation, but as noted the team can look 90 percent different. Idk if pros is like college in that sense.
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Don't worry, rest assured can take those odds and blown it. I'm convinced no one in the Dallas organization knows how to fit a team together. On Kelsey, one of my least favorite ball players but she makes it work. She's super tough and gives 100% pretty much all the time.
 
Crossover said:
If "team style of play" is important to you, why would you draft Lauren Betts? She makes Kara Wolters look like Nikola Jokic.
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It's interesting to see this. I get things wrong all the time, but I always think the opposite of Betts. Jana did a great job on her but she had 25 on 11/18 shooting. I've seen her switch out on guards, I've also seen her change ends pretty well from offense to defense. I was genuinely thinking who has been a better big/center in college in the last 10 years?
 
jdote33 said:
Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that Dallas was sorta guaranteed a top 3 pick. While it's not 3 To See level, I do like the presumed top 4 picks (Azzi, Lauren betts, Awa Fam, Olivia Miles). I also really like Taniya Latson and kinda think she would also be a good fit next to Paige. I know she's a bit on the small end but she seems to be a really good athlete. If Kelsey Plum can get by at that size perhaps she can too.
I feel like Big Mama Stef would be a great fit in Dallas. But right now they are losing games by 20 plus. I can't lie, I'm a bit concerned. It's ok that it may take time to make the playoffs. I think DT literally missed the playoffs her first 3 years. But they haven't been competitive in a lot of games. Paige has kinda talked in post games about building a foundation, but as noted the team can look 90 percent different. Idk if pros is like college in that sense.
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For Dallas. If all they have is one first round pick with out any other deals and they are stuck with Arike then for them I think the better choice is Betts. They need reliable mobile bigs who can score.

Now, if they deal Arike away (my wish) then you can take Azzi as the 2 guard replacement first and then get a different big later in the draft.
 
jdote33 said:
Thanks for posting this. I didn't realize that Dallas was sorta guaranteed a top 3 pick. While it's not 3 To See level, I do like the presumed top 4 picks (Azzi, Lauren betts, Awa Fam, Olivia Miles). I also really like Taniya Latson and kinda think she would also be a good fit next to Paige. I know she's a bit on the small end but she seems to be a really good athlete. If Kelsey Plum can get by at that size perhaps she can too.
I feel like Big Mama Stef would be a great fit in Dallas. But right now they are losing games by 20 plus. I can't lie, I'm a bit concerned. It's ok that it may take time to make the playoffs. I think DT literally missed the playoffs her first 3 years. But they haven't been competitive in a lot of games. Paige has kinda talked in post games about building a foundation, but as noted the team can look 90 percent different. Idk if pros is like college in that sense.
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Latson is a gunner, and Paige is already playing with more than one of those. Not working out very well.
 
Dugway said:
Dugway said:
This was mentioned in Post #25 as something to consider well. I personally think it is very ironic that we read so many negative comments here on the Boneyard about Ogunbowale, … force her to resign a contract with the Wings, and for no other reason than to hopefully trade her for some draft choice?

Here is the thing, EVERY veteran player is a free agent next season (I guess with the exception of those who may be Cored). So, given that there will be so many on the market, why would any other program want to trade for Arike, when they might simply be able to negotiate with one of the eighty or so other free agents? What kind of trade value would she really carry? And what if there are no other teams willing to trade anything, what then?
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Dugway said:
Who does Dallas draft (c) in the 2026 WNBA draft?

Which comes first - the chicken or the egg?
Expand ...
2026 roster management for Dallas is akin to solving a Tetris puzzle whose rules are dependent on a new CBA &2 — not unlike Trans Warp Beaming. It’s not neatly linear.
  • For example, protecting Awak Kuier and possibly Lou LS and letting Golden State draft Carla Leite in 2025, might seem silly for 2025;
  • But it may look inspired for 2026 if the WNBA prioritization rule is relaxed, Arike is traded for (cored) protected player(s) &1 (excluding double-cored-need-not-be-protected players such as Britney Griner, Tina Charles or Dewanna Bonner with whom Dallas could directly negotiate with), and Azzi is drafted.
&1 The idea of coring a UFA has always had some unsavory undertones to the unwilling cored player.
  • But the rule is there, and unless changed in the new CBA &2, there will perhaps be many newly cored UFAs in 2026 to protect from two expansion drafts and possibly for sign-and-trade;
  • Arike is a key Dallas asset in such a market; but being newly cored does not necessarily mean automatic sign-and-trade fodder; Paige, who has vouched for Arike, may be the one player that Arike would be willing to be accountable to, to rein in her ball dominant hero ball that loses games also by being a defensive liability.
&2 It is my gut feeling that WNBA owners already know that jeopardizing or chaotically compromising a 2026 season (and by extension, market valuations and growth momentum in a now societally accepted professional women’s basketball league) will be blamed on them. And over what? A perceived untransparent penny-pinching.
 
NycUcWbbFan said:
2026 roster management for Dallas is akin to solving a Tetris puzzle whose rules are dependent on a new CBA &2 — not unlike Trans Warp Beaming. It’s not neatly linear.
  • For example, protecting Awak Kuier and possibly Lou LS and letting Golden State draft Carla Leite in 2025, might seem silly for 2025;
  • But it may look inspired for 2026 if the WNBA prioritization rule is relaxed, Arike is traded for (cored) protected player(s) &1 (excluding double-cored-need-not-be-protected players such as Britney Griner, Tina Charles or Dewanna Bonner with whom Dallas could directly negotiate with), and Azzi is drafted.
&1 The idea of coring a UFA has always had some unsavory undertones to the unwilling cored player.
  • But the rule is there, and unless changed in the new CBA &2, there will perhaps be many newly cored UFAs in 2026 to protect from two expansion drafts and possibly for sign-and-trade;
  • Arike is a key Dallas asset in such a market; but being newly cored does not necessarily mean automatic sign-and-trade fodder; Paige, who has vouched for Arike, may be the one player that Arike would be willing to be accountable to, to rein in her ball dominant hero ball that loses games also by being a defensive liability.
&2 It is my gut feeling that WNBA owners already know that jeopardizing or chaotically compromising a 2026 season (and by extension, market valuations and growth momentum in a now societally accepted professional women’s basketball league) will be blamed on them. And over what? A perceived untransparent penny-pinching.
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The idea that Dallas might “core” Arike and then trade her seems unlikely. With so many free agents in the W this coming season, it’s hard to imagine that any team would trade an asset to the Wings for Arike on a one year Supermax contract, only to lose her the following season. It would make far more sense to sign a veteran guard to a long term contract without the need to give up any assets.

Futher to the point of coring, it’s equally unlikely that the Wings would core Arike and keep her, only to lose her to free agency the following season. If the Wings do elect to keep Arike, which is a debatable decision at this point, the only way it would make sense is if the team signs her to a longer term contract, i.e. 3+ years.
 
oldude said:
The idea that Dallas might “core” Arike and then trade her seems unlikely. With so many free agents in the W this coming season, it’s hard to imagine that any team would trade an asset to the Wings for Arike on a one year Supermax contract, only to lose her the following season. It would make far more sense to sign a veteran guard to a long term contract without the need to give up any assets.

Futher to the point of coring, it’s equally unlikely that the Wings would core Arike and keep her, only to lose her to free agency the following season. If the Wings do elect to keep Arike, which is a debatable decision at this point, the only way it would make sense is if the team signs her to a longer term contract, i.e. 3+ years.
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Agree, that (and below to complete your thought process) would be the most likely outcome.
  • Arike probably need not be protected from the expansion drafts under current rules since the expansion team would need to core her, the one and only UFA.
But if, for argument’s sake, say, Britney Griner doesn’t want to stay in ATL, and ATL wants to get something for her, and they like Arike and the coring rules stay the same. Then both ATL and Dallas probably need to execute mirror core-protect-sign-and-trade actions.
 
NycUcWbbFan said:
Agree, that (and below to complete your thought process) would be the most likely outcome.
  • Arike probably need not be protected from the expansion drafts under current rules since the expansion team would need to core her, the one and only UFA.
But if, for argument’s sake, say, Britney Griner doesn’t want to stay in ATL, and ATL wants to get something for her, and they like Arike and the coring rules stay the same. Then both ATL and Dallas probably need to execute mirror core-protect-sign-and-trade actions.
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Atlanta has a fair bit of guard depth with Gray, Canada, Howard, PaoPao and Caldwell. Think Atlanta would look for another post presence if Griner decided to move on before entertaining this trade idea.
 
cancontent said:
Atlanta has a fair bit of guard depth with Gray, Canada, Howard, PaoPao and Caldwell. Think Atlanta would look for another post presence if Griner decided to move on before entertaining this trade idea.
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And I realized that Griner (as well as Tina Charles) is double-cored and my specific example of mirror trades for a needed Dallas post is not what I thought it was.
 
NycUcWbbFan said:
Agree, that (and below to complete your thought process) would be the most likely outcome.
  • Arike probably need not be protected from the expansion drafts under current rules since the expansion team would need to core her, the one and only UFA.
But if, for argument’s sake, say, Britney Griner doesn’t want to stay in ATL, and ATL wants to get something for her, and they like Arike and the coring rules stay the same. Then both ATL and Dallas probably need to execute mirror core-protect-sign-and-trade actions.
Expand ...
You as well as the OldDude seem much more conversant on the all of rules in play here than yours truly so please excuse this neophyte's question: Does not the new CBA introduce penalties restricting ability of teams to make trades and sign players that impact the salary cap and the salary protection of the involved players? How would Dallas and ATL get around this?
 
WiseWillie said:
You as well as the OldDude seem much more conversant on the all of rules in play here than yours truly so please excuse this neophyte's question: Does not the new CBA introduce penalties restricting ability of teams to make trades and sign players that impact the salary cap and the salary protection of the involved players? How would Dallas and ATL get around this?
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You raise an interesting and currently unanswerable question. So long as the new CBA is not final, we have no idea how the new salary cap will impact players and player movement.
 
Crossover said:
If "team style of play" is important to you, why would you draft Lauren Betts? She makes Kara Wolters look like Nikola Jokic.
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She is the best big in the draft ( not close) and there is a little something called coaching! You should look into it! Who would you like to see them draft? I tend to think that if you have a very good facilitator at the point, the next thing is a good post player. You then try to put as many good players around that core as you can and hope your chemistry is good. Throw in a good coach and you might have something. Dallas has exactly one of those things at present.
 
Cuango said:
She is the best big in the draft ( not close) and there is a little something called coaching! You should look into it! Who would you like to see them draft? I tend to think that if you have a very good facilitator at the point, the next thing is a good post player. You then try to put as many good players around that core as you can and hope your chemistry is good. Throw in a good coach and you might have something. Dallas has exactly one of those things at present.
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I agree that Betts is the best Big in the draft. What is difficult to determine is whether or not she can be a dominant post in the W, where there’s a bunch of 6’5 - 6’8” posts. Griner, Jonquil Jones, Charles, Wilson, Boston and others are all bigs who are mobile and effective. My view on Betts is that she is “mobility limited” and her ceiling is more like Cardoso. If so, then the Wings could do better by signing a veteran center and using their lottery pick in the draft to sign another big time scorer: Azzi, Miles or another top g/w.
 
RoadMaster said:
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There were a couple games to start the WNBA season off at the end of May and there will be a couple games to wrap the season up at the beginning of September. In the middle, there were 3 full months of basketball in June, July & August, during which Paige was named the Rookie of the Month for each of the three.

I’m going way out on the limb here by suggesting that Paige will be named the WNBA Rookie of the Year……..😉
 
Oh, I don't know @oldude . Never underestimate the Sonia Citron Fan Club. And then there is the power of the WNBA totally screw things up ... viz. Caitlin Clark; referee influenced games; I'll stop there.
 
Cuango said:
She is the best big in the draft ( not close) and there is a little something called coaching! You should look into it! Who would you like to see them draft? I tend to think that if you have a very good facilitator at the point, the next thing is a good post player. You then try to put as many good players around that core as you can and hope your chemistry is good. Throw in a good coach and you might have something. Dallas has exactly one of those things at present.
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Thanks so much for schooling me. I had no idea that there was such a thing as coaching. I took your advice and looked into it, and came across someone named Tara VanDerveer. Apparently she was the head coach at a place called Stanford when Lauren Betts was a freshman there. Betts did not play much that year, probably because VanDerveer was too dumb to recognize her talent (or her height), or lacked the ability to develop talent. (Pay no attention to rumors out of Palo Alto that Betts was un-coachable). Thankfully, Lauren had the good sense to transfer. During my research I learned that she landed at UCLA where she played for a coach by the name Cori Close. Did I get that right? Close must be terrible at her job since her team lost to UConn in the Final Four this past Spring. (Geno Auriemma would beg to differ with that evaluation of Close, but what does he know?) So yes, Betts has been victimized by lousy coaching up until now, and will undoubtedly blossom under the superb tutelage of Dallas Wings coach Chris Koclanes. Plus, I bet she can't wait to escape UCLA's heliocentric style of play, and is eager to be in a system that does not revolve around her.
 
Crossover said:
Thanks so much for schooling me. I had no idea that there was such a thing as coaching. I took your advice and looked into it, and came across someone named Tara VanDerveer. Apparently she was the head coach at a place called Stanford when Lauren Betts was a freshman there. Betts did not play much that year, probably because VanDerveer was too dumb to recognize her talent (or her height), or lacked the ability to develop talent. (Pay no attention to rumors out of Palo Alto that Betts was un-coachable). Thankfully, Lauren had the good sense to transfer. During my research I learned that she landed at UCLA where she played for a coach by the name Cori Close. Did I get that right? Close must be terrible at her job since her team lost to UConn in the Final Four this past Spring. (Geno Auriemma would beg to differ with that evaluation of Close, but what does he know?) So yes, Betts has been victimized by lousy coaching up until now, and will undoubtedly blossom under the superb tutelage of Dallas Wings coach Chris Koclanes. Plus, I bet she can't wait to escape UCLA's heliocentric style of play, and is eager to be in a system that does not revolve around her.
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Good one, Pengy! Yeah, she hasn’t had much luck with coaches, thats for sure! I forgot that I praised the “superb tutelage” of Koclanes,
Oh wait! Well, maybe Dallas will hire a different coach that can actually coach. There’s a thought.
I don’t have the “in” about Tara’s last year and Close is clearly a genius with one final four (a blowout loss) in 14 seasons in spite of highly ranked recruiting classes including two #1 classes. Clearly you have a different idea about who Dallas should choose with their hoped for #1. I just hope they can get Paige some help.
 
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