Satou Sabally, Jaelyn Brown and Maddy Siegrist have been medically cleared to play. All are expected to return within the first week of action after the Olympic break. Each player has been sorely missed as the Wings, with a 6-19 record, are tied for last place in the standings with the Washington Mystics.
Billings and Sims are now unrestricted free agents and can sign with any team. Their performances in Dallas have put the league on notice and their chances of finding a new home are promising.
Billings played 24 games with the Dallas and averaged 8.8 points per game. She was also third in rebounding averaging 6.6 per game.
In just nine games, Sims was the second leading scorer in Dallas, averaging 17.2 points per game and shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. The former Baylor standout was once again a key piece on the Wings roster, but the team has not been able to keep her. It all came down to cap space, and almost every team is close to being maxed out.
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What Dallas has lost
During the midseason check-in via Zoom August 8, President and CEO Greg Bibb explained why Dallas was not able to keep either player when those sidelined with injury returns.
“There’s no ability to say, you know, what? Both players have … been tremendous for us. We’ve decided that we’ll keep them and we’ll release another player. Can’t do that. One of those two must be released when the second injured player returns. The second hardship contract must be released again. No choice in terms of changing out that player. That hardship contract must be released.“
Dallas ended last season as semi-finalists. With 15 games left in this year’s regular season, making it to the playoffs will not be an easy feat, even with key players returning. Currently, the Wings are four-and-a-half games away from the eighth seed. It is a short window for Dallas to gel and build chemistry on the court. According to Bibb, the math is challenging but the team certainly wants to make a run.
“I believe we can still get ourselves into the playoffs if we have our roster together at the jump here, at the start of the second half. But more importantly for me, it’s getting that group together that we thought we’re going to have at the beginning of the season and see how they play, how they progress over the last 15 games,” he said.
What Dallas has gained
There was just a small sample size with brown when she made her WNBA debut, leading all scorers with 21 points in the pre-season game against the Indiana Fever on May 3. She was sidelined after having a procedure to fix a nose fracture, shortly after she could not play due to an unknown illness.
In her second season, Siegrist showed that she had improved her game and appeared to be more confident, averaging 14.6 points and just over four rebounds per game. But then, Siegrist broke her finger during the first half of the game against the Minnesota Lynx June 17.
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Although Sabally participated in the Olympics, leading Germany with an average of 18.8 points and almost six rebounds per game, she has yet to participate in the WNBA this season. The shoulder injury Sabally suffered during the qualifying tournament for the Olympics was something that Dallas could prepare for. However, it proved to be quite difficult for the team to stay in the mix for a playoff spot with additional injuries, including when forward Natasha Howard broke her foot, which kept her out for 12 games.
But, with so many key players out, others racked up their minutes and expanded their experience. There is a chance; Dallas is not to be counted out just yet.
Nine of the Wings’ last 15 games will be played at the College Park Center. The journey to claiming the eighth seed begins Aug. 16, as they host the second place Connecticut Sun.
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