WNBA free agency will begin soon after the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire hold their expansion drafts, which will give the league's newest teams the opportunity to begin building their rosters from scratch. While there are a lot of fun scenarios to imagine, plenty of those being bandied about the internet aren't especially realistic. For example, it's highly unlikly A'ja Wilson will leave the Aces to go anywhere, and the same can be said for Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu, who have both made it clear they're staying in New York.
But there are some scenarios that are a lot more realistic, and one in particular could give the Dallas Wings a major boost: Azura Stevens departs the Los Angeles Sparks for the Texas team.
Stevens renounced her college eligibilty while she was a fourth-year college junior, and was drafted as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2018 WNBA Draft by none other than the Dallas Wings. She played for the team during the 2018 and 2019 seasons before spending a year overseas playing for Hebei Win Power. Stevens returned to the WNBA in 2020, when she was signed to the Chicago Sky, and stayed with that team until the end of the 2022 season.
From there, Stevens went back overseas until she was called up by the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2023 season. She's been with the team since then, while also spending the 2024 offseason with the Xinjiang Magic Deer, and spending two seasons in Unrivaled in Miami.
In a lot of ways, Stevens is exactly the kind of WNBA player who will benefit from the new CBA — perhaps even the most. She's a talented role player who brings a lot to the court, and her potential, especially after what she's done in Unrivaled, is pretty wide-ranging. But it's not clear if she'll be able to play as much for the Sparks as she has been now that Cameron Brink is healthy and, presumably, going to be back on the court this season.
This offers Stevens and the Dallas Wings a pretty enticing possibility: the team needs frontcourt players, and Stevens has already more than proven herself in that capacity. The Wings also need players who can help Paige Bueckers do what she does best, and Stevens is a strong teammate who knows when and where to feed the ball. And unlike the Indiana Fever, where Stevens would also fit in well, the Sparks have the money to pay her — especially with the new CBA.