Aug 24, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts during the second half against the Golden State Valkyries at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Dallas Wings expected to 'change a lot' this offseason

Originally posted on Dallas Wings on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 5:05 PM ET

The Dallas Wings have a massive offseason coming up as they look to build properly around Paige Bueckers, who took home All-WNBA Second Team honors while winning Rookie of the Year in a historically productive season. However, the team around her needs to improve quickly after a 10-34 season.

Dallas already made one major chance when they fired Chris Koclanes after just one season as head coach. They certainly took their time with that decision, waiting nearly a month after they played their final game to dismiss him. However, that is likely far from the only change that the Wings will make this offseason.

ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel went through each WNBA team and predicted how much change they'd go through this offseason. For the Wings, they expect a lot of change.

"With No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers as the clear franchise star -- and the Wings having the top odds for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft -- this upcoming season will be about Dallas firming up its vision around Bueckers, and it's a future that includes new team facilities now under construction and hiring a new coach to replace Chris Koclanes," Philippou wrote. "A primary offseason question revolves around whether Arike Ogunbowale returns to the franchise she has spent her whole career with. Beyond that, the Wings have a lot of other young players who can provide depth while the team maintains the cap flexibility to take some big swings in free agency."

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

What Should the Wings do With Arike Ogunbowale?

The Dallas Wings had every opportunity possible to trade Arike Ogunbowale before the trade deadline, but they decided to keep her with the intention of re-signing her this offseason. Is that the best idea, though?

Ogunbowale is coming off the worst season of her career and struggled to play alongside another ball-dominant player in Bueckers. Part of that can likely be attributed to Koclanes' coaching style, as it seemed to constantly baffle players during timeouts, but to see her numbers drop like they did was still disheartening.

Ogunbowale is now set to enter free agency, free to sign with whoever she chooses. Ideally, if she does go elsewhere, the Wings can figure out a sign-and-trade to not lose an asset for nothing.

Dallas does have 10 total free agents this offseason to make decisions on, but none are more important than Ogunbowale.

This article first appeared on Dallas Wings on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: