The Dallas Wings have just two weeks before the start of training camp to attempt to build a roster that will yield improvement from 2025’s last-place finish.
The April 3 expansion draft effectively kicked off a WNBA offseason condensed greatly as a result of prolonged collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Free agency will commence soon — though dates have not been made official — and the 2026 WNBA Draft is just over a week away.
For the Wings, this year’s draft is particularly contentious. General manager Curt Miller’s first draft with the Wings appears strong so far, led by no-brainer No. 1 selection Paige Bueckers’ first-year success but rounded out by the flashes shown by guards Aziaha James (No. 12 pick) and JJ Quinerly (No. 27).
Dallas owns the top choice again, but it’s still not clear who it may use it on. Valencia (Spain) center Awa Fam and UConn guard Azzi Fudd are the names appearing at the top of most major mock drafts currently. The former is a 19-year-old with a versatile skillset offensively and fills the team’s most obvious need. The latter, meanwhile, has one-of-a-kind shooting ability from deep, and her experience playing with Bueckers make her an enticing candidate.
When the Wings won the top pick back in November, Miller said that six prospects had separated themselves, and he saw “optionality” with their spot atop the order. While the organization has surely narrowed the group in consideration for the first selection, it’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen on draft day.
Outside of that selection, Dallas only has one other draft pick — No. 31 to start the third round. It traded its second-rounder to Seattle during the season to pick up center Li Yueru.
Much of the team’s roster-building is likely to come through free agency. Bueckers, James, Quinerly, forward Maddy Siegrist and forward Diamond Miller are the only five players from the 2025 team the Wings still have under contract. In addition, they have a club option to decide on for Lou Lopez-Sénéchal, who sat out in 2025 but has a year left on her rookie deal should Dallas decide to exercise it.
In the backcourt, having three young guards in the fold is a strong foundation to build from. The biggest question in that group surrounds the potential retention of two unrestricted free agents — Ty Harris and Arike Ogunbowale.
Harris, who started her career in Dallas and returned via trade after two seasons in Connecticut, hardly played in 2025. She was out for most of training camp with injury, then appeared in just five games before having knee surgery and missing the rest of the season. If she does return, the veteran guard can bring reliability and 3-point shooting to the backcourt.
Plenty of eyes will be on Ogunbowale’s free agency fate. The three-time All-WNBA selection averaged career-worst scoring and efficiency numbers in 2025, missing 15 games with injury. Those struggles have left some questioning her fit with Bueckers, although the two only shared the court for half the season. Miller has continued to praise Ogunbowale as an important piece of the franchise, and should she return, the team will hope that last year was an aberration.
In the frontcourt, there are more gaps to fill. The position group struggled and rotated through a number of players in 2025, and two forwards have departed to begin the offseason. Luisa Geiselsoder and Haley Jones were both picked by the Portland Fire in the expansion draft. Both young, versatile players had impactful stretches during their one season in Dallas.
“The expansion draft is always a tough day for organizations,” Miller said in a statement. “While planning has been in place for months, the reality of losing players that you value and believe in is always difficult. Losing Luisa and Haley is no exception. Luisa and Haley contributed on and off the court to our culture and both have bright futures. We will miss them and wish them the best as they move onto Portland.”
Siegrist impressed after returning from injury, and the first names to look at are the ones still connected to the team. Yueru is a reserved player, meaning Dallas has exclusive negotiating rights. Awak Kuier, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, could also return to the team after spending the last two years playing overseas.
Still, further frontcourt additions should be expected. There’s a large free agency pool this year for the Wings to recruit from, and they could also use the aforementioned No. 1 overall pick to add a talented big.
There are numerous routes the Wings can take in looking to assemble head coach Jose Fernandez’s first WNBA roster as the pace of the offseason picks up dramatically in the coming weeks. It will likely be the second year in a row that Dallas enters the season with a significantly reshaped roster, and the franchise hopes this one brings better results.
The Dallas Wings did not make Miller or Fernandez available to comment for this article.
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