Dallas brought Arike Ogunbowale back to pair with Paige Bueckers, keeping the backcourt that started together last year as the Wings continue to build around a 2026 title push. The move came after Ogunbowale endured a down 2025 by her standards, but Dallas chose stability over a reset.
The Wings also signed Alanna Smith to a three-year max deal and brought in Jessica Shepard for two years at about $1 million per year, while retaining Li Yueru, Awak Kuier and Maddy Siegrist. Dallas exercised Siegrist’s fourth-year rookie contract option, a sign the club is still trying to keep useful pieces in place as it shapes the rest of the roster.
That matters because Dallas now owns the first pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, and the board appears narrow. The four realistic options are Lauren Betts, Awa Fam, Azzi Fudd and Olivia Miles, each carrying a different answer to what the Wings need next.
Bueckers changes the equation. She is enough of a natural playmaker that Miles, who would need the ball in her hands to look like the right fit, becomes an unattractive option for a team already set up to run offense through its young guard. Dallas also looks unlikely to spend another major asset on a long-term frontcourt piece after adding Smith and Shepard to the mix.
That leaves the draft in a sharp light. Fam has a high ceiling, but she is not polished and would likely need more time to develop. Betts brings size, but the Wings have already made their frontcourt additions. Fudd, by contrast, is viewed as about as WNBA-ready a prospect as there is, which gives Dallas a cleaner path if it wants to keep trying to contend immediately around Bueckers and Ogunbowale.
For Dallas, the next decision is less about talent in the abstract than fit at the top of the draft. The Wings have started assembling a roster that says they want to win now, and that makes the choice in 2026 harder, not easier.
