The Dallas Wings won their WNBA draft lottery for the second consecutive year, making them one of only three franchises that have had such luck. The Seattle Storm built on their back-to-back top picks, while the Indiana Fever also found themselves in a commanding position with their back-to-back picks.
Interestingly, the Wings GM Curt Miller drew Caitlin Clark in parallel after the back-to-back 2026 WNBA draft lottery win. But ahead of the draft night, the GM also has one warning for the side.
Dallas Wings GM Curt Miller Gets Real About Expansion Draft
The WNBA draft will take place in April, following the NCAA finals, where eligible players will participate in the selection process and enter the league to make their mark. However, before that, the teams may undergo numerous changes through expansion drafts and free agency signings, which will impact the selections.
Miller highlighted the same point and said, “We’re going to lose players that you don’t necessarily want to lose in an expansion draft. There’s a lot of unknowns, and we have a couple other big, big moments before [the draft]. We have an expansion draft… and then you’ve got unprecedented free agency before you even get to the collegiate draft in April.”
Toronto has been awarded a WNBA expansion team with play expected to begin in 2026 🔥👏 pic.twitter.com/CEM0vqjhHS
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 23, 2024
The Wings will have six players under contract ahead of the 2026 season and can protect five players under the draft protection rule. Though GM Curt Miller remains optimistic about building around Paige Bueckers, they could lose one of the remaining five players from the roster. In the 2026 expansion draft, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo will pick unprotected players from existing WNBA teams.
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
Even though the experienced GM spoke cautiously about the expansion draft and looks to keep the franchise grounded with a fair warning, the side has the best answer amongst all the franchises in the league.
Dallas Wings Hold Key Piece For Their Future
The 2026 WNBA draft is expected to be one of the most unprecedented ones, with more than four players capable of being the top pick, making it an even more entertaining rookie of the year race. The Wings might lose some players, which would be the fringe players that the team was mostly looking to cut anyway during their rebuilding process. They have the top pick, a possible cornerstone player for the future.
Going ꓘƆAᗺ 2 BACK 🕺
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) November 23, 2025
The Dallas Wings have officially won the draft lottery and will pick first in the 2026 WNBA Draft! pic.twitter.com/9xnPOvqmpQ
ESPN’s analyst Chiney Ogwumike backed Azzi Fudd as the Dallas Wings’ No. 1 pick for elite shooting, but there are multiple other reasons that could make her a suitable candidate for the Wings.
Apart from this backcourt pairing, the Wings can also utilize the top pick to acquire a strong forward, such as Awa Fam or Lauren Betts, which would be a more impactful and effective pairing with Paige Bueckers, allowing them to control the paint region as well.
So even though the GM is worried about the expansion draft, the Wings are in a comfortable position to deal with the ‘lost’ players.