Sheryl Swoopes warned us before. “The pieces that they have…there should be no way they should 1-9!” Of course, landing a Husky like Paige Bueckers should’ve been the start of something. But instead, Dallas threw away the chance of it by handing the clipboard to an old friend instead of a legend like Lisa Leslie. For Swoopes, that choice was costly. “It’s one thing to be buddies, to be friends, to be whatever, and I get it… but this is about wins and losses,” she said. According to her, the Wings needed someone who had walked in their shoes. She even said that it was, “a mind-boggling thought to me. I really wish I knew why [the teams that rejected Leslie] said no.”

And history does back her up here. Dawn Staley, Becky Hammon, Stephanie White, and many more women are proof that former players can translate experience into leadership. But instead of following that strategy, Curt Miller gave the franchise’s reins to Chris Koclanes. His old running mate since 2016, when Miller first hired him as a video coordinator in Connecticut. By 2019, Koclanes was a defensive coordinator. He followed Miller to L.A. in 2023. And now, with Miller calling the shots as Dallas GM, Koclanes got the ultimate bump: head coach.

But the results are now exactly what Swoopes feared. And her latest take is no softer. On her podcast “Levels to This,” Sheryl Swoopes got candid about the situation. “There’s so many times I look at this team in the time out in a huddle and they all look confused,” she called out, and she’s spot on. Remember how, with 59 seconds left against the Valkyries on July 25, Dallas trailed by six? Chris Koclanes drew up a play, but instead of sparking hopes of a comeback, it only caused more confusion. Paige Bueckers’ face twisted into confusion, while Haley Jones’ wide-eyed stare reflected disbelief. Moments later, the Wings collapsed, losing by double digits.

Swoopes has seen those blank stares more often than any of us, and she put words to what fans could only guess: “Like what did you just say or what are you trying to tell us or what do you want us to do and that’s just not a good look. I can’t tell you how many times I watched the game and looked into the huddle and watched Paige Bueckers’ face, it was like…I ain’t really sure what that is. I am going to go and do my own thing.” 

That confusion is the perfect sign of what she argued earlier. It is the sign that Dallas’ grand reset has already flopped. “Starting the season off…because I was one of them, with the moves they made in free agency, I was like, ‘Okay, Dallas is going to make some noise this year.’ Paige Bueckers, Arike, you bring in NaLyssa Smith, DiJonai. On paper, they had both the backcourt and frontcourt covered. But…” As Swoopes deadpanned, “It didn’t go as planned.” But the Wings squad isn’t losing all faith in their HC just yet; in fact, they recently stood up for him.

Paige Bueckers and Co. Rally Behind Rookie Coach Amid Mounting Pressure

Before finally ending their losing streak with a victory over Indiana, the Dallas Wings were stuck in a five-game skid. The league’s now 11th-ranked team appeared to be coming apart at the seams, but rookie standout Paige Bueckers offered a different perspective. “I think we have a really good young core, we have great pieces to build around, good complementary pieces,” she stated following practice. “We’re all really excited that the front office has doubled down on who we have here right now. I think that’s what we’re gonna build around.”

Her message cut through all the negativity, and even during their season’s lowest point, Paige Bueckers advocated for patience. She reinforced this stance with a direct challenge: “We’ve talked about it enough. We need to put action behind our words.” These comments from her sounded like an implicit defense of first-year head coach Chris Koclanes. It was much needed for him, as he has always faced the brunt of criticism during Dallas’ struggles. Disgruntled fans have chanted “We want Nola” (assistant coach Nola Henry) while analysts have questioned Koclanes’ qualifications.

The coach himself acknowledged this adjustment: “Stepping into this leadership role, [I’m] being challenged to step outside of character at times and when to hold people accountable in different ways and when to discipline in different ways, so I’m learning.” And not just Paige Bueckers, but even the veteran players have echoed calls for patience. Like, forward Myisha Hines-Allen stated after a loss to New York: “You know we didn’t start the season off well, we’re not playing how we should be playing. But we need the fans to support us. At the end of the day, Chris is still our head coach. We still need him.”

The Wings even temporarily rewarded this faith by snapping their losing streak against Indiana, but followed it with a heartbreaking one-point loss to Los Angeles that dropped their record to 9-25. Unfortunately, their 9-24 mark had already landed Koclanes on Sporting News’ “hot seat” list. Jeremy Beren noted how the coach’s defensive schemes and substitution patterns have drawn widespread scrutiny. However, Koclanes retains one crucial advantage, as we mentioned earlier. It is his longstanding relationship with GM Curt Miller dating back to their Connecticut days.

As Beren observed, too, Koclanes’ job security likely lies in Miller’s position rather than fan discontent. Currently, despite visible frustration during timeouts and occasional questioning of decisions, there’s no full-scale player revolt either. We have never heard of Paige Bueckers or Arike Ogunbowale approaching the management demanding changes. This quiet acceptance may prove enough to secure their rookie coach another season.