While the Wings have put together some impressive performances, like a 92-82 win over the New York Liberty, this is not a playoff team. The Wings are headed for another lottery pick to bolster their young core.
After an array of in-season moves, the Wings now have a ton of young players. Paige Bueckers, Luisa Geiselsöder, Aziah James, Haley Jones, Diamond Miller, JJ Quinerly, and Maddy Siegrist are all 25 or younger. Li Yueru and Grace Berger are only 26.
Not all of those players were on the roster to start the season. Jones joined the team on a hardship contract before establishing herself as a great rotational player for the Wings, and Grace Berger just signed a third seven-day contract. Miller and Yueru came to Dallas in the trades that sent out NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington.
With so many young, promising players on the roster, the Wings will soon face a harrowing decision. They will have to figure out which players they want to protect in the expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire.
The Wings won’t be able to protect all of their young players
When the WNBA held the expansion draft for the Golden State Valkyries, teams were allowed to protect six players. The upcoming expansion draft will likely have similar rules, meaning the Wings won’t be able to protect all of their young talent.
Paige Bueckers will undoubtedly be on the list. She is the face of the franchise and a future superstar. Arike Ogunbowale should be on the list as well. Since the Wings didn’t trade her, it seems they are committed to making the Bueckers-Ogunbowale pairing work long-term.
That means there are only a few spots left and several players the Wings would love to keep around. Aziaha James, JJ Quinerly, and Luisa Geiselsöder have been impressive in their rookie seasons. Haley Jones has been very impactful in a short amount of time. Maddy Siegrist is a promising young forward, and Diamond Miller was the second overall pick in 2023 for a reason.
The Wings will have to decide which of those players they might be okay with losing to an expansion team.
The rest of the season will help the Wings evaluate their talent
The Wings still have fourteen games left to better evaluate their young talent. Diamond Miller, in particular, will be under the microscope. Getting her in return for DiJonai Carrington was a big win, but the Wings haven’t seen much from her yet.
Miller played her first game for the Wings after travelling from Seattle to Minnesota to Dallas and to New York. She played just seven minutes, but once she’s familiar with the Wings’ system and style of play, she should be able to play bigger minutes.
The Wings’ new coaching staff also hasn’t seen a whole lot from Maddy Siegrist yet, who missed some time with an injury and has only played 12 games so far.