After two seasons at the helm, Latricia Trammell’s tenure as Dallas Wings head coach came to an end Friday, the team announced in a press release.
Trammell took over the position before the start of the 2023 season and led the team to its best season in over a decade. The Wings set a franchise record for wins in a season (22) and won a playoff series for the first time since 2008. Dallas’ first round victory over the Atlanta Dream set up a WNBA Semifinal matchup against the Las Vegas Aces, where the Wings fell to the eventual champions three games to none.
“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. On behalf of our entire organization I thank Latricia for her efforts and wish her well moving forward,” team president and CEO Greg Bibb said.
The team also announced it would be searching for a new GM. Bibb said in the release that the search has already begun and the team hopes to have news on a hire for the position “soon.”
These changes come after a tumultuous season for the Wings. After advancing to the WNBA Semifinals in 2023, Dallas lost 31 of its 40 games in the 2024 season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and sending them to the draft lottery. All-WNBA player Satou Sabally missed the bulk of the season and a slew of other injuries to players, including Natasha Howard and Maddy Siegrist, derailed the team’s season before it had a chance to materialize.
The team will have to act fast to fill these positions because it’s expected to be a jam-packed offseason for the WNBA. The league will hold an expansion draft Dec. 6 for its newest franchise Golden State to build a team. The new GM will have to create its list of safe players — a total of six — that will be protected from the draft. All other players on the roster will enter the pool of players that could be selected to play for Golden State.
Additionally, the Wings — through their odds and Chicago’s odds who they own via the Marina Mabrey trade — have a 45.4% chance, the best odds of any team, to get the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s WNBA Draft. We’ll learn what pick they get during the draft lottery Nov. 17. The new GM will also have to work on Sabally’s new contract if they wish to resign her as she is set to become a free agent this offseason.
