Dallas Wings fire Latricia Trammell, plan to hire new general manager

“After an extensive review of our basketball operations department, which included interviews and conversations with stakeholders across our organization, I have made the decision to relieve Latricia Trammell of her head coaching duties with the Dallas Wings,” said Dallas Wings president & CEO Greg Bibb. “On behalf of our entire organization I thank Latricia for her efforts and wish her well moving forward.”

Dallas will also hire a GM who will report directly to Greg Bibb, league sources tell The Next. Early, obvious candidates for this role include Curt Miller, who was let go by the Los Angeles Sparks earlier this offseason, and Minnesota Lynx associate head coach Katie Smith, whose season continues Friday night in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.

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It has been an absolute honor to work with such talented players, staff, and to be supported by the most passionate fans,” Trammell told The Next. “The relationships built, lessons learned, and memories made will remain with me always. I’m grateful to the media for their coverage and support throughout my time here. Though this chapter closes, I’m looking forward to the next coaching opportunity. I love this league and everything it stands for. I’m incredibly proud of the growth we achieved together and wish nothing but continued success for this team. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey.”

The first one, a 22-18 campaign, earned Trammell 11 first-place votes for Coach of the Year, an award captured by Stephanie White. The Wings finished atop the league in rebounds per game, were top five in most offensive categories, and in both steals per game and defensive rebounds per game as well. Both Arike Ogunbowale and Satou Sabally earned all-star nods.

But the 2024 campaign did not go as planned. Dallas finished 9-31, the roster riddled with injuries, and the Wings played short-handed most of the season. Sabally played just 15 games, Maddy Siegrist and Natasha Howard 27 apiece, and the Wings never regained their 2023 form, finishing second in the league in total games missed due to injury with 90.

The Wings also suffered from some scarcity in personnel, with incumbent point guards from 2023 Crystal Dangerfield and Veronica Burton traded and cut, respectively, and rookie point guard Sevgi Uzun‘s struggles leading to the team patching with a series of short-term deals with Odyssey Sims that league rules prevented from being converted to a rest-of-season contract. Without a primary playmaker, Dallas’ offense sank to eleventh in turnover percentage, though still a respectable sixth overall in offensive rating. But the lack of continuity led to a league-worst 12th in defensive rating.

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Trammell immediately becomes a strong candidate for openings in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Toronto and Portland.

For the Wings, this restructuring, including a beefed-up front office, will help Bibb and the leadership team navigate the upcoming expansion drafts, the first scheduled for Dec. 6, along with the lottery pick — potentially top overall — in the immediate time ahead. So the timing of these moves — with the logical order being a general manager first, who can then have say in the head coaching choice — will likely need to happen soon.

This article was updated to include a quote from Dallas Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb.