The franchise moved to Dallas, Texas in 2015 and reformed from the Tulsa Shock, so all eyes eventually take it to Dallas wings as the franchise moved to Dallas, Texas.
The organization has made five playoff appearances over the past nine seasons, with four of which came out for the first exit. In 2023, the Wings made it to the second round of the playoffs, but were swept 3-0 by the Las Vegas Ace 3-0 champions of the series.
Despite having multiple impact players over the years, it’s safe to say that the Wing has historically had no real candidate or a winning formula worthy of a championship. But drafting the Stars and Lottery Pinballs is lined up to help the franchise take appropriate steps towards ascension.
Step 1: Change the front office
The Wings parted ways with former head coach (HC) Latricia Trammel in October last year. Trammell coached the Wings for two seasons, during which he recorded a 31-49 record, but failed to survive last year’s Abysmal 11th place finish.
In her first year of the franchise (2023), Trammell prioritized relationships with players, focusing on creating winning habits, including paying attention to details and what she calls Edge (efficiency, dynamic, growth, energy). Her lightness and flexibility were a different approach to the team, and players really resonated with her teachings. Satou Sabally was selected to be the most improved player and the All-WNBA first team in Trammell’s first year, with both Sabally and Arike Ogunbowale tapped as All-Stars. It was looking for wings who had finished over .500 in the 2023 campaign as one of only four teams. It appears that players are buying into Trammell’s system to reach new feats. However, that fate changed in 2024.
The Dallas Wings were statistically in the lower tier of almost every ranking last season, marking 9-31. Unlike in 2023, Trammell was unable to bring together the team, and players were visibly irritated, frustrated and irritated in court multiple times. Sabbery was unavailable in the first half of the season due to an offseason injury, and players Jerin Brown and Natasha Howard suffered their own injuries in the first few weeks of play. Arike Ogunbowale has become a mainstay of status reports, nursing minor discomforts throughout the season. Wings relied on hard-working contracts and secured players like Monique Billings and the Odyssey Sims, but the inconsistent coaching, lineup and lack of team chemistry ultimately led to the Wings’ disappointment in 2024.
With the team that parted ways with Trammell last October, the team’s president and CEO Greg Bibb decided to step down from the role of general manager (GM) and hire longtime WNBA coach and executive Curt Miller at his location. This has come as a shock to many people. Given that Bibb was always holding the roster tightly and he was dedicated to the execution. His The vision of the franchise. The addition of the mirror shows that Bibb is ready to explore a new approach in 2025.
“Curt Miller is a proven winner with key experience building the WNBA roster and staff,” Bibb said. “I think Kurt’s ability to build winning teams, as well as his success in coaching in the WNBA and beyond, will prove invaluable to our organization as we continue to pursue the WNBA Championship.”
Miller spent 23 years in the college scene as an assistant and head coach for five different programs. In 2015, he spent a year as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks, quickly jumping to the dual GM-HC role in the Connecticut Sun in 2016, staying for seven seasons. After the 2022 WNBA season, Miller was selected as the new head coach for Los Angeles Sparks, working with newly hired GM Reagan Pebury for two seasons. He recorded a 25-55 record in his two-year head coaching stint with Sparks.
One of Miller’s first moves as an acting GM was to hire Chris Koclanes as an alternative to Trammell. Koclanes has recently been an assistant coach for the University of Southern California women’s basketball team for the past two seasons. He first joined the organization in 2015 and remained at USC until 2019 when he became Sun’s assistant coach.
Curt Miller hired Koclanes in 2016 as the video coordinator for The Sun. Over time, Koclanes advanced to the coaching role when he left USC in 2019, serving as defensive coordinator. He supported the San Franchise in reaching the 2019 and 2022 finals and the 2020 and 2021 WNBA semi-finals. Miller also took him with him to Los Angeles Sparks in 2023, where he recreated the role of defensive coordinator.
Now, Koclanes is part of leading the fees for new look wings that have secured a bright future for themselves through drafts and free agency. He brought in notable assistant coaches Nora Henry and Bell Collans, along with Addison Lee as director of basketball analysis and strategy.
(In other front office moves, Chief Operating Officer (COO) AmberCox has spent time in the Dallas franchise, Cox’s director ticket sales, partnerships and other similar divisions leaving the wings to Indiana Fever COO and GM.)
Step 2: WNBA Draft Lottery
The 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery took place on November 14, 2024, a week after Cochrane was hired, and a month after Miller’s GM was added. With the luck of the draw, Dallas’ wings secured the No. 1 overall pick.
Securing the first pick in a highly coveted draft reset exactly the wings needed. The franchise last had its first pick in the 2021 draft, bringing Charli Collier into the future. However, after her first season, Collier’s role was significantly reduced, and she was eventually abandoned by the team following her 2023 training camp. Moreover, the wings historically do not hold much of the draft topics they take each year. Over the past five seasons, Ogamboir, Tia Sha Harris and Madhi Sagrist are the only players on the team drafted by the franchise, and Harris returned in 2025 after playing for Connecticut two seasons.
Bibb finally released the franchise reins, creating a new atmosphere, culture and experience where players can finally see their Dallas destinations. Tested like Miller as Wings’ GM, there’s no way Dallas’ Wings could draft the first pick this time with Koclanes, who will test a reliable executive and follow in his footsteps. right? Perhaps the universe has given the franchise a willingness to change with the number one pick, but it’s only time to figure out how the combination of draft picks and free agency moves pans out for the Wings organization.
Step 3: Free agency
in: Dihonai Carrington, Maisha Hines Allen, Narissa Smith, Tiasha Harris
Outside: Jacy Sheldon, Jaelyn Brown, Kalani Brown, Natasha Howard, Satou Sabally, Sevgi Uzun
Training camp: Kaila Charles, Joyner Homes, Luisa Geiselsöder, Mai Yamamoto*, McKenzie Forbes, * Mikiah Herbert Harrigan*
(Abandoned players are marked with an asterisk)
The Dallas wings made a very competitive move to bolster reinforcements and the next No. 1 pick during the offseason. The franchise has retained only three players from the previous season, heading into 2025: Ogamboir, Cigarist and Center Tealera Makowan.
Dihony Carrington is expected to become a defensive leader and enforcer. Media Day, Carrington admitted that the wings lacked defense. The previous year, she looks forward to leading the fees for her revised course. Harris returns to Dallas and is ready to take charge of the point guard position and knows how to adjust the team’s pace and gameplay. She is also a capable 3-point shooter game, knocking down 38.3% of her looks throughout her career.
Smith joins the organization with a fresh start after a slight cut of just a few minutes in fever last season. She averaged 13.0 points (PPG) per game, shooting 45.8% off the field, reducing 8.0 rebounds (RPG) per game. Smith’s role within the rotation should still be decided, but she has the opportunity to carve out quite a bit of a minute. Depending on how they are used in the Small Forward (SF) and Forward (F) positions, Smith could be off the bench first and in the sixth Player of the Year competition. Finally, Dallas signed Hines Allen as a free agent. The free agent appeared in the 2024 final after being traded with the Minnesota Links and the midseason. She brings reinforcements to the post to support McCowan, and she knows how to create winning plays for herself and her teammates.
Miller was intentional about his free agency acquisition, Quote He intentionally brought players in or near a player under the age of 30.
The Dallas franchise eventually parted ways with Sabury after five seasons. Although she has achieved success in the organization many times through MIP and All-Star honors, the new era of Wings Basketball had to let go of the once-must-have-been production. She was Exchange for Phoenix Mercury in a 3-Team deal It took Smith to Dallas. (Kalani) Brown found success with Dallas after signing a hardship agreement in 2023 and securing a 3-year contract protected in 2024. She was also part of a three-team deal featuring Sabbery. Howard has also been a key member of the Wings for the past two seasons. However, almost 24 hours after the team’s final game last season, she joined social media. To announce that she will explore a completely free agency in 2025. Howard signed One-year contract to participate in Indiana Fever.
All signs pointed out that a fresh start from Miller’s roster, except for these three important works from the previous year. The Dallas Wings played hard, were rewarded hugely during free agency, increasingly folding the number one pick. Wing’s gaze never wavered from their top targets as March Madness approached and university prospects began deciding whether to declare a WNBA draft.
Step 4: WNBA Draft
lastlywe reached Page Bookers. From the moment the Wings landed their first pick in the draft lottery, they could have been set up on Beauker and had a team of hardworking, insightful, winning players. She developed the game at UConn under Geno Auriemma and added her name to a long list of legends and champions, including Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and Swin Cash.
Throughout the draft process, prospects Olivia Miles and Dominique Malonga were also speculated to be one of the top selections. there was Light There is speculation that Miles could potentially become No. 1, but she transferred to TCU with a focus on returning to the college scene. Malonga finished second overall at Seattle Storm.
Bueckers enter the franchise at the right time when organizations are willing to try new things to achieve different outcomes. She is the dream point guard of all teams. Great decision making and high basketball IQ, efficient and selfless. Her achievements at the college level at the WNBA will be strengthened as she competes with the best players in the world. Outside of the regular rookie ratios, there is not much of a source of Booker’s concern, such as improving defensively or improving the benefits of sizes veterans have. Still, Dallas’ wings have been given attention to her use and health with a quick turn from a college season to the W. Bookers, and have suffered multiple injuries throughout her college career, including multiple knee and ankle injuries. She told reporters that she is very focused on staying healthy this year, with a focus on R&R (rest and recovery).
Bueckers have been learning the balance of physicality on both sides of the floor at a recent point.
She doesn’t want to play too hard and disrupt her body, but she understands that being aggressive and physical is part of the game.
– Jasmine Harper (@hausofharper) May 7, 2025
Beyond Beauker, the wings were installed with more drafts and attempted to land younger talents, choosing Asiaha James and Madison Scott. Aaronette vonleh and JJ Quinerly late in the evening. James considers himself a 3rd level scorer and is following Candace Parker in the game, and will prioritize border shooting and defense. JJ Quinerly is a swagger guard who can run points and turn off the ball. Quinerly’s 5’5″ height can cause problems in the backcourt, but as we saw from the small G and the Rookie of the Year in 2020, Crystal Danger Field could have an impact on the pro game. Scott and Vonle were abandoned following the Wings’ preseason game.
James and Kinnelly made a strong impression during the preseason action. The rookie acted as a sponge, absorbing the teachings of veterans and coaches, securing a spot on the roster this season and staying in the long-term league. Scott hadn’t made a final Wings roster, but he stood out to fans and the media during training camp. Her dedication to the game, positive outlook, and court size allowed her to quickly find her on the WNBA roster.
2025 Expectations vs. Reality
With all in mind, despite the honeymoon stages the franchise is currently in, there are some question marks left on the Dallas wing. First of all, what is HC Koclanes’ coaching style and how will his rotation be? This is fair to ask a first-time head coach, but it’s fair too, given Dallas’ historic lack of consistency. Again, the mirror is GM. teeth This Wings team’s best case scenario, Koclanes is a proven basketball mind along with a capable mentor who can count on and help everything come together. His experience as a defensive coordinator pilots him a lot as the team tries to bounce back from last year’s fear.
When it comes to the starting lineup, Bueckers, Ogunbowale, and Carrington are obvious check marks, but only two spots remain in the Siegrist, Smith, McCowan and Hines-Allen combination. Does McCowan come out of the bench only with his wings, or will Siegrist, Smith, or Hines Allen play the role? The team is making at least one more cut this week to beat the roster by 12pm.
Dallas could potentially reach the postseason on the current roster. But what about after that? With multiple rookies on the bench and only one player with the championship experience (Hines-Allen), it would be difficult for the wing to push past the competition and into round two. Relying on coaching and cochrane systems, team chemistry, and commitment to discipline and consistency proves essential to franchise progress.
Finally, the only question is: Will Dallas’ wings finally make it right in 2025?
