Change of Scenery May Be Best for Key Dallas Wings Free Agent

Arike Ogunbowale may depart for greener pastures.

Aug 8, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) walks off the court after the Wings lose to the New York Liberty at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The WNBA and its players' union have to come to an agreement on the new CBA, meaning there will be a 2026 season. With how long negotiations took, people doubted if the two sides would ever find a middle ground, but we now have tentative dates for expansion drafts, free agency, and more.

This is going to be one of the biggest and busiest free agency periods in WNBA history, as nearly every meaningful player is up for a new deal. A lot of players were smart and realized there was going to be a massive cap spike, and that's exactly what happened, as the salary cap will be up to $7 million, and the minimum salary will be up to $300,000.

One of the many free agents is Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, who is coming off the worst season of her career after the team drafted Paige Bueckers. However, she is still expected to be highly coveted, and Sabreena Merchant of The Athletic has Ogunbowale as the 20th-best free agent in this loaded class.

"Ogunbowale has never been the most efficient scorer, but she can get buckets," Merchant wrote. "The 2026 Unrivaled season was a chance to see her excel when she wasn’t the focal point of an offense. Some new WNBA scenery should help Ogunbowale tap into her best skills."

After averaging 18.7 PPG in every season of her career, Ogunbowale was down to 15.5 PPG last season. As Merchant mentioned, Ogunbowale has never been an efficient player, but she had her worst season shooting from the floor and from three. That will create an interesting dilemma for the Wings over the next few weeks.

Aug 27, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) looks on from the team bench during the first half against the Connecticut Sun at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Should the Dallas Wings re-sign Arike Ogunbowale?

The Dallas Wings had every opportunity to trade Ogunbowale ahead of last season's trade deadline, but decided to hang onto her, having confidence that they could re-sign her.

There's also the argument that a lot of why Arike Ogunbowale played as poorly as she did, for her standards, was because of former head coach Chris Koclanes, who was fired after just one season. It was his first season ever as a head coach, and he clearly struggled to find ways to best integrate Ogunbowale and Bueckers.

Jose Fernandez is now the head coach, and while he hasn't spent time in the WNBA before, he does have 25 years of experience as the head coach at the University of South Florida, and he may have a better system for the two stars in Dallas.

However, if Ogunbowale walks in free agency for nothing, that's really going to hurt the Wings, especially knowing what they could've gotten back a year ago.