Excitement for the Dallas Wings’ 2025 season was at an all-time high a few months ago as fans eagerly anticipated the arrival of Paige Bueckers. While the No. 1 pick did well in her rookie season, winning the Rookie of the Year award after an outstanding campaign, the team collectively struggled.It wasn’t just Bueckers’ first season, as Chris Koclanes was also making his debut season as a head coach in the WNBA. His debut wasn’t as successful, as the Dallas Wings finished the season with the worst record in the league (10-34).The franchise’s general manager, Curt Miller, despite being a longtime friend of Koclanes, decided to let him go shortly after the season ended. A move that resonates with advice he shared during a conversation with the Dallas Morning News in September 2025.“I struggled early in my career to rip the Band-Aid off when there wasn’t a perfect fit or maybe there was a move that was a little bit scary to make,” Miller said. “Sometimes failing fast is beneficial.”The team’s poor run in 2025 hasn’t demotivated the front office, as Miller plans on building around Bueckers with the hopes of bringing a championship to the city.“Bring other great players to play with her [Paige Bueckers], alongside her, and build this Dallas team into what we ultimately hope is a championship,” Miller said.“In my mind it worked”: Dallas Wings' Curt Miller on pairing Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai CarringtonFans expected much from the Dallas Wings in 2025. In February, the team acquired one of the league’s best two-way players in a four-team trade that saw DiJonai Carrington land in Dallas. They already had All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale and were widely expected to draft Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick.A core of these three players excited the fans, and they weren’t alone as GM Curt Miller also laid out his expectations from the Wings’ star core:“You had your efficient rookie who could play on or off the ball. You had your shot-maker in Arike and you had your defender in DiJonai,” Miller said. “In my mind, it worked.”While it seemed like a solid group on paper, it translated to no success for the Wings. Paige Bueckers’ arrival coincided with a decline in Ogunbowale’s numbers, from 22.2 points per game in 2024 to 15.5 in 2025.Carrington also struggled to find her rhythm with the Dallas Wings, averaging 10.4 points in 20 games, and was traded to the Minnesota Lynx in August.