Wings Eye Roster Moves Following Paige Bueckers' Playoff Debut

For the majority of last Friday night's winner-take-all Game 3 between the Dallas Wings and Golden State Valkyries , it seemed that the Wings were going to pull off a remarkable upset and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2023. Instead, their 16-point lead kept slowly melting away until, with just over a minute left, it disappeared for good when Gabby Williams hit a go-ahead jumper.

At the podium, shortly after a heartbreaking end to her sophomore campaign and postseason debut, Paige Bueckers was asked what stood out about this team and what they accomplished.

"I think just our selfless nature and how much we enjoyed coming to work," Bueckers said, before pausing and burying her head in her towel, unable to hold back tears. After another All-WNBA-caliber season, Bueckers scored just 27 points on 27 shots in the final two games of the series while battling the Valkyries' relentless defense and a patellar tendinitis flare-up in her right knee that had limited her since the World Cup.

Despite how things ended, the Wings' 2026 campaign should be seen as a success, both inside and outside the locker room.

After winning 19 combined games in 2024 and 2025, the Wings made wholesale changes last offseason. They replaced Chris Koclanes with Jose Fernandez, signed Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith in free agency and drafted Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick. In addition, they re-signed franchise stalwart Arike Ogunbowale .

Back in the spring, there were real questions about how the new-look group was going to fare, especially given the organization's poor track record. How would Fernandez translate to the professional game after more than two decades at South Florida? Would Shepard and Smith be enough to shore up the frontcourt? Was Fudd, who is in a relationship with Bueckers, the right choice at No. 1? And did it make sense to bring Ogunbowale back into a crowded backcourt after the worst season of her career?

Fernandez going on a lengthy postgame rant calling his players selfish after a 1-2 start didn't ease any of the concerns. But the Wings responded to Fernandez's challenge and won six of their next seven games, and by late July were sitting in fourth place thanks in large part to a breakout season from Shepard, who went on to win Most Improved Player and proved to be a far more impactful signing than Smith.

The Wings stumbled on either side of the All-Star break, however, and in late August Fudd was ruled out for the season due to a knee injury that required surgery. By that point, the Wings were stuck in eighth place and had some work to do to fend off the expansion Portland Fire for the final playoff spot. While everyone expected they would, there was little hope for the rest of the season without Fudd.

Even after they won seven of their final eight games to finish 27-17 -- a record-setting 17-win improvement on last season -- and earn the No. 7 seed, no one expected their first playoff appearance since 2023 to last long. A 24-point loss to the Valkyries in Game 1 only confirmed those thoughts.

Ogunbowale would not let her team go down without a fight, however. She set the WNBA record for points in a playoff game with a heroic 45-point outing in Game 2, which included an absurd 3-pointer from deep in the corner to force overtime, and added another 30 points in Game 3 to nearly complete the upset. If she hadn't tweaked her groin in the fourth quarter of that game, which forced her to briefly go to the locker room, the Wings may still be playing right now.

As it is, they're sitting at home, but with hope for the future.

"I knew we were on the right trajectory when we got Paige," Ogunbowale said last Friday while an emotional Bueckers sat beside her. "Generational player. She willed us throughout the whole season, should be First Team All-WNBA. If not, I feel like that shit's rigged, because she's done everything for this team. I said it in signing back, I saw the vision."

Season at a glance

- Record: 27-17 (No. 7 seed) - Offensive rating: 111.3 (5th) - Defensive rating: 106.4 (6th) - Net rating: plus-6.8 (5th)

Biggest strength

Jump shooting

No team took more jumpers than the Wings this season, who fired 43.7 per game and 1,922 in total. They were a league-best 46.5% on 2-point jumpers and shot 34.8% from 3-point range, which ranked fifth in the league. All told, their 1.001 points per possession on jumpers ranked fifth.

On an individual level, Paige Bueckers took 530 jumpers -- 69 more than any other player -- and among the 88 players who took at least 100 jumpers, no one shot better than her 47.2%. Arike Ogunbowale (367) and Azzi Fudd (268) ranked ninth and 21st, respectively, in jump shot attempts, and Fudd would have been even higher if not for a season-ending knee injury. When those jumpers were going in, the Wings were really tough to beat.

Biggest weakness

Performances against other playoff teams

The Wings went 27-17 by beating up on lottery opponents. They were a remarkable 20-2 against the seven lottery teams, and both defeats -- against the Portland Fire and Phoenix Mercury -- were by a single point. By contrast, they were 7-15 against the seven other playoff teams, which obviously was not good enough and cost them a higher seed in the playoffs.

Key free agents

- Awak Kuier (restricted) - Maddy Siegrist (restricted) - Alysha Clark (unrestricted)

Biggest question: How do they build out the supporting cast?

The Wings don't have many free agents, but they still face an interesting offseason, in which they'll have to figure out which players they view as long-term fits alongside Bueckers and Fudd, and how they want to build out their supporting cast. As great as it was to win 17 more games this season, make the playoffs for the first time since 2023 and push the Valkyries to the limit, this team is still a few moves away from becoming a true contender.

First and foremost, the Wings will have to address Kuier's restricted free agency. The former No. 2 overall pick returned to the WNBA this season after sitting out in 2024 and 2025, and though she didn't play much early on, became a key piece down the stretch. She is by far the best interior defender on the team, and after the All-Star break, led the league in blocks per game (2.6). Additionally, she shot 39% from 3-point range, and though her shot can be streaky, her ability to space the floor on the offensive end makes her a unique talent. Kuier is still only 25, and will certainly attract significant interest in free agency, but her restricted status means the Wings can match any offer she receives.

The Wings committed over $1 million per year each to Smith, Shepard and Ogunbowale last offseason, but because Bueckers and Fudd are on rookie deals, they still have cap space to work with. Due to the new revenue sharing system, the exact salary cap figure for 2027 is still unclear, though we can assume it will be slightly higher than the 2026 figure of $7 million. The Wings currently have just under $5 million on the books for next season, which means they can re-sign Kuier at any cost, though doing so would limit their ability to fill out the rest of the roster unless they were able to trade one of Smith or Shepard.

A congested 2027 cap sheet and less flexibility in free agency this offseason are small prices to pay to bring back a player as unique as Kuier, who is on the same timeline as Bueckers and Fudd, and retaining her should be the Wings' top priority. If that means that 2027 turns into a bridge year until Shepard and Ogunbowale's contracts are off the books (followed by Smith in 2028), that would not be the worst outcome. Especially when this group has already established itself as a playoff team and has two more first-round picks coming in this year's draft who could address some of their depth concerns, both now and in the future.

Draft outlook

- Picks Nos. 9, 13, 24 and 30

After having the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back drafts, the Wings will not have a lottery selection this year. They will, however, have two first-round picks -- No. 9, which is their own, and No. 13, which they got from the Las Vegas Aces via the NaLyssa Smith trade. In addition, the Wings will have two second-round picks, though those will be far less important.

As currently constructed, the Wings have a crowded backcourt and frontcourt, but are very thin on the wing. Luckily for them, at least one of Maryland's Oluchi Okananwa or Ole Miss' Talaysia Cooper should still be on the board at No. 9. Either would be a welcome fit due to their athleticism and defensive playmaking, which would be a nice complement to the offensive skills of Bueckers and Ogunbowale.

Their target at No. 13 would be more dependent on what happens in free agency. If they end up trading one of Shepard or Smith, or one of Kuier or Siegrist leaves in free agency, frontcourt depth would be a need. In that case, Chloe Kitts of South Carolina could be an option. It's also possible that the Wings don't have the roster spots or cap space to bring in two first-round picks and make a draft-and-stash selection at No. 13.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/whats-next-for-wings-paige-bueckers-azzi-fudd-supporting-cast/)._