Peculiar front-office decisions weren’t on Dallas fans’ 2025 bingo card, but here we are! From trading Luka Doncic to getting the first-overall pick in both the NBA and the W, it’s been a pretty weird year for Dallas basketball. General managers are always supposed to make the best move for the franchise, but it’s never that easy to start off with. Every GM has their defining moment. For Jerry Krause, it was trading Charles Oakley; for Amber Cox, it was drafting Caitlin Clark, and for Dallas GM Curtis Miller? It might end up being the 2025 season as he looks for pieces to support Paige Bueckers.
Miller created waves in the W recently. Or to put it simply, he traded NaLyssa Smith for a 2027 first-round pick. Let that sink in for a moment. They had just stolen the six-foot-four forward from Indiana in free agency this year, and have let her go just as quickly as they got her. The roster move makes some sense, considering that Geiselsoder and McCowan are back from international play, and their draft capital could use more work than their frontcourt. But how did head coach Chris Koclanes react to this move by Curt Miller?
Well, he was pretty positive about it! The media discussed what the chemistry and future of the Wings looked like after the Smith trade, and the head coach took just 9 seconds to express his belief in the process. “Just trust. Trust the front-office vision, and thank NaLyssa for everything that she did for our group and this organisation while she was here, and wish her nothing but the best,” Koclanes said, putting his faith in the front office.
However, it hasn’t exactly been easy for Koclanes and his squad. They’re currently the worst-performing team in the Western Conference with a 5-13 record, and getting Paige Bueckers hasn’t really solved much for them. To tackle major roster changes on top of that? “It’s a challenge, but that’s part of the job,” according to Koclanes.
Going through a rebuild is always tough for a franchise, and revamping the entire frontcourt? Even tougher. But Curt Miller has a vision behind his bold moves, one that heavily features his foreign stars surrounding Bueckers in the frontcourt. Let’s find out his rationale behind these roster decisions.
Dallas GM has a bright vision after trading Paige Bueckers’ star teammate
The NaLyssa Smith trade came out of the blue for everyone, including the six-foot-four forward and her partner in Dallas. Smith had a fantastic couple of years with the Indiana Fever before shifting to Dallas, and even though her production was down compared to last year, she still provided quality minutes for the struggling team.
However, according to GM Curtis Miller, her departure opens exciting new doors for the rest of the roster. More specifically, Luisa Geiselsoder, who is coming off an impressive EuroBasket campaign, and Myisha Hines-Allen. These two forwards were not seeing as much time on the floor as the management would like, so the Smith trade worked out well for them.
Jun 27, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings forward NaLyssa Smith (1) grabs a rebound in front of Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard (6) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Miller was quite candid about his thought process to the Dallas Hoops Journal. “The unintended consequence of trying to maneuver through five post players that can all deserve minutes, that all would’ve liked to play — our move now opens up even more minutes for Luisa, opens up minutes for Myisha,” He said. “So I look forward to watching those four in our rotation in the post.”
It will be interesting to see if the GM’s audacious move will pan out the way he’s expecting it to. The future of the franchise is safe in Paige Bueckers’ hands, but a losing record never sits well with the fans or the front office. But will Miller’s changes help Dallas in the short term and get them back on track? Only time will tell.
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