“What a great time to be a Wing,” GM Curt Miller said after winning the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery. After all, that provides them with the golden opportunity to select the first overall pick in the draft. And there is no point in guessing who every team in the league wants to acquire is– Paige Bueckers. While it may be all sunshine and roses in Dallas, this news could very well dampen some smiles, suspects the NBC Sports hosts.

On the latest episode of On Her Turf, while discussing the possibility of Dallas selecting Paige and how she would fit with the team, Callie Fin also mentioned the downside. “Personally, I think that what we’re seeing is there are a lot of UConn fans who are still a little bit salty from, Arike’s NCAA tournament heroics, her buzzer beaters against UConn,” she said. Natalie Esquire immediately highlighted the history between the UConn HC Geno Auriemma and the Wings guard.

This takes us back to July 2014, when Arike Ogunbowale had yet to be recruited by Notre Dame. The high school talent randomly posted on X, “My Top 5 (alphabetical order): Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, Wisconsin.” This did not sit well with Geno Auriemma, as his team, one of the most reputable ones, was not even included in that list. Furious with her statement, he took to the same platform to write, “Stay tuned for my list of the 5 players I saw the past 7 days that I have zero interest in recruiting…. #whatajoke”.

Arike didn’t respond much to that post, other than with crying emojis. However, she had a befitting reply from Coach Geno in 2018. The Huskies were unbeatable in the NCAA tournament but Arike’s buzzer-beater ended their streak in the Final Four.

Coming back to recent times, Bueckers and Ogunbowale could clash if their chemistry does not work. Fin revealed that she heard supporters joking about the duo not being a good fit. The insider believes, “If your issue or concern is that Arike likes to have the ball in her hands too much and that’s not gonna work for Paige, I assure you it will not be a problem.”

After mentioning how Ogunbowale would believe that bouncing off of Bueckers will be a synergistic pairing, Fin also said, “In her third season of being healthy, she is still working on being more aggressive. Not being such a facilitator. Being more selfish. That’s something she has to learn, it’s not her nature. She’s also, we know, a pro-ready guard. So it’s not gonna take a bunch of adjustments on the court,” Fin claimed.

So everything ultimately boiled down to one factor–the Dallas-based franchise’s uncertain situation.

Paige Bueckers could be the light to Dallas’ uncertainty

The Wings have yet to find a replacement for their former HC Latricia Trammell. Moreover, Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard may be leaving for free agency. While this might seem like a disadvantage, Fin believes it’s actually a prime opportunity for team rebuilding and Paige Bueckers could play a crucial role in it.

“I would think you should be super excited about this. I mean think about, obviously we talked about Arike coming back, Tiera McCowen coming back, Kalani Brown; those are protected veterans,” Fin mentioned about how the Wings roster might look like in the next season.

“Those are the people that are leaving and now you can build something different. So I think that, to me, that’s exciting. Paige and Dallas seem cool to me,” Fin added. With Bueckers joining, the team could have an exciting and optimistic season ahead. At that, Esquire highlighted the deep respect the franchise has for the 23-year-old guard before she has even landed there.

In fact, Ogunbowale even tweeted her excitement about the first-overall pick in Dallas’ hands by writing, “I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD! 😭😭😭😭”

However, the Husky hasn’t offered a clear reaction to the possibility of joining the Wings. “I think I’ve mostly dealt with it by focusing on having a great practice today,” the 6-footer said when the media asked her how she handles the rumors surrounding her potential future.

There’s still plenty of time before the 2025 WNBA Draft and a lot could change by then, but one thing will remain constant, like Geno said, “Paige is going to be all right wherever she goes.”