The Dallas Mavericks sent shockwaves that the NBA world still hasn't really recovered from by trading Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that netted them Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one (1) first-round pick. It's a trade that made no sense at the time and still is impossible to comprehend.
Unsurprisingly, the Lakers have flourished with Doncic, while the Mavericks, barring a miracle, will see their season end in the Play-In Tournament.
To say that the city of Dallas is frustrated with its basketball would be an understatement. It feels as if every time the Mavericks play a home game, chants to fire Nico Harrison, the team's general manager, break out. To be fully transparent, it's hard to blame Mavericks fans for being as frustrated as they are.
For as poorly as this year has gone for basketball in Dallas, the hardcore fans of that city did get a gift when the Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft Lottery, gifting them the golden opportunity to select Paige Bueckers. Finally, that dream became reality on Monday night when the Wings made the pick official.
No, I'm not here to say Bueckers is Doncic by any stretch. She is, however, a player worth getting excited about for a city in dire need of a major vibes shift.
I think there's a massive opportunity here with paige bueckers and the basketball community in dallas. obviously that community has had its heart ripped out, but paige could help that in so many ways. excited to see how this all shakes out and hopeful for some good news there.
— Josh Bowe (@Boweman55) April 14, 2025
Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like The Whiteboard, share it with an enemy!
Paige Bueckers gives the city of Dallas the star it desperately needs after Luka Doncic trade
Again, trading a talent like Doncic away still makes absolutely no sense, and there's a good chance Mavericks fans never come to terms with it. I mean, how many 25-year-old MVP-caliber players are traded away one season after leading his team to the NBA Finals when his contract is not an issue and he doesn't want to leave? It simply does not happen. It'd be as if the Indiana Fever traded Caitlin Clark in the middle of her prime.
While Dallas fans might never get over the Doncic disaster, getting Bueckers as a consolation prize is nothing to scoff at for the Dallas basketball scene. Sure, she's not Doncic, but she's among the highest-touted collegiate athletes we've seen in women's basketball in quite some time.
Her career with the UConn Huskies was historically great. She averaged 19.8 points per game on 53.1/42.3/85.0 splits to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists in four seasons. To top it all off, she led the Huskies to a National Championship win last month.
The Mavericks are obviously a mess, but the Wings, with Bueckers in the mix, are a team on the rise. Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale will form one of the WNBA's best backcourts, and the team should see a steady improvement in the win column rather quickly as a result.
The city of Dallas needs a young, homegrown star to rally around after the Doncic debacle. While Bueckers might not be at Doncic's level in 2025 or even ever, she is absolutely a future star and is a player worth getting fully behind.