Paige Bueckers is the focal point of everything the Wings do. Any player the team drafts, trades for, or signs in free agency will have to be a good fit next to Bueckers. So, it is no surprise that Curt Miller tries to involve Bueckers in key decisions about the team’s future.
When Miller appeared on In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams, he said, “I leaned on Paige, and as we were building this, one of the things that she showed incredible maturity about was the desire to talk about our future, and we would talk about trades. We’re talking about free agency, talking about the draft.”
Free agency and the draft will be the keys to turning around the Wings’ abysmal 2025 record. Dallas has the number one pick and the chance to draft another young building block. On top of that, almost every veteran in the league will enter some kind of free agency, offering the Wings the biggest pool of free agents to chase after in several years.
Miller also said, “We definitely have to infuse our young core roster with more veteran talent. We have to raise our talent level.”
Bueckers will be an important factor in veterans’ decisions about signing with the Wings, as many of them might be intrigued by the idea of playing with a young star. Moreover, it seems that Bueckers will also have a say in which veteran free agents the Wings bring in ahead of the 2026 season.
The Wings had one of the youngest teams in the 2025 season
As soon as Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard signaled that they didn’t want to play for the Wings in the 2025 season, it became clear that the Wings would have to enter some kind of rebuilding or retooling era. They tried to force the latter, bringing in younger veterans in DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith. Neither turned out to be a great fit and they were traded for draft assets and young talent.
So, the Wings are now in the middle of a full-blown rebuild with tons of young talent. Arike Ogunbowale, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Ty Harris were the only true veterans on the roster, but the latter only played five games before suffering an injury, and Ogunbowale also missed some time.
The rest of the roster is incredibly young. Over the course of an injury-plagued season, eight rookies and five players with only two years of experience suited up for the Wings. Most of those players are still under contract or will be reserved free agents, so the Wings’ young core is in place for the 2026 season. If Curt Miller wants the team to win more games rather than tanking for another lottery pick, he has to bring in veteran talent.
With two consecutive number-one picks and a new arena and practice facility in the works, Dallas promises to be an interesting team to play for over the next few seasons.