WNBA Draft 2017 Preview: Dallas Wings


2016 Record:
11-23

Key Offseason Moves:
Traded Odyssey Sims and the No. 11 pick in the draft to Los Angeles in exchange for the Nos. 4 and 23 picks in the 2017 draft
Aerial Powers underwent surgery to repair a hip labrum tear in November

Last Year’s Draft Picks:
1st Round/5th Overall: Aerial Powers
2nd Round/18th Overall: Ruth Hamblin
3rd Round/30th Overall: Shakena Richardson

This Year’s Draft Picks:
1st Round/3rd Overall
1st Round/4th Overall
1st Round/10th Overall
2nd Round/23rd Overall
3rd Round/26th Overall

2016 Highlights

Team Needs:

After winning three titles and making seven straight playoff appearances when the franchise was known as the Detroit Shock, the team has played in more cities (Tulsa and now Dallas) than its had winning seasons (18-16 in 2015) over the past seven years.

The franchise’s first season as the Dallas Wings saw the team endure an 11-game losing streak in the second half of the season and finish with an 11-23 record – the second-worst mark in the league behind San Antonio. The draft lottery landed them the No. 3 pick in the draft and a pair of trades brought two additional first round picks as the team looks for players ready to make an immediate impact at the pro level.

The Wings have traded two of their past three first round picks – the second overall picks in 2014 (Odyssey Sims) and 2015 (Amanda Zahui B) – that landed them the Nos. 4 and 10 picks in this year’s draft. Armed with three of the first 10 picks in this year’s draft, the Wings need to find players that can be a part of their long-term future. Since 2011, the franchise has held seven first round picks (with the lowest pick being seventh overall) and only three remain on the roster today – Glory Johnson (2012), Skylar Diggins (2013) and Aerial Powers (2016).

Johnson and Diggins have both missed significant time due to pregnancy (Johnson) and injury (Diggins) and Powers is still recovering from offseason hip surgery. Assuming all three are healthy at the start of the season, the Wings have a solid core to build on and by adding a trio of first round picks, Dallas has a chance to make a quick turnaround back into the playoff picture.

In terms of needs, the most glaring weakness of last year’s team was its defense, which ranked last in defensive rating (allowing 108.4 points per 100 possessions). Adding a center that can play with pace (Dallas ranked third at 79.6 last season), protect the rim (Dallas had the third-lowest block percentage) and score in the post (Dallas ranked last in percentage of points scored on two-point shots) would definitely fill a need and there are a number of center prospects that should be available to the Wings at No. 3.

The departure of Sims leaves an opening for an off-guard to play alongside Diggins in the backcourt. Finding a player that run the floor and shoot the three would be ideal. The Wings led the league in 3-point attempts last season (21.8 per game), but their 32.2 3-point percentage ranks below league average (33.6%).

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