A WNBA player was traded and released one day later...
Dallas Wings Release Paige Bueckers' New Teammate After DiJonai Carrington Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
We are just a few days away from Thursday's 2025 WNBA trade deadline, and teams are looking around the league in hopes of making a deal. The Dallas Wings have been one of the WNBA's busier teams this week, completing a trade with the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday.
The Wings, who are going through a rebuilding phase, traded away the 2024 Most Improved Player, DiJonai Carrington. In return for Carrington, the Wings received forward Diamond Miller, guard Karlie Samuelson and a 2027 second-round pick. This came over a month after Dallas traded away Carrington's partner, NaLyssa Smith, to the Las Vegas Aces.
With Dallas entering Wednesday’s game against the New York Liberty at 8-21 and effectively out of the playoff race, the team has opted to create a roster spot by releasing a player.
Wings Cut Newly Acquired Player
On Monday, just one day after the trade was finalized, the Wings announced they would not be keeping Samuelson, officially waiving the newly acquired guard, who had already been ruled out for the season after suffering a left foot injury on June 29.
According to Winsidr's Melissa Triebwasser, the decision to cut Sameulson was agreed on by both parties, and Dallas will likely have an interest in bringing the guard back over the offseason, when she is fully recovered from her injury. The Wings will also be leading Samuelson's recovery process, which could be a sign of her future in Dallas.
"DiJonai Carrington and Diamond Miller have passed their physicals, formally completing the trade between the Dallas Wings and the Minnesota Lynx," Triebwasser wrote. "According to sources, Karlie Samuelson will be waived. Samuelson will be out for the remainder of the season while recovering from injury. Dallas will lead Samuelson's rehab and recovery process into the offseason, when she will become a free agent."
Samuelson appeared in 16 games for Minnesota this year, including four starts. She was averaging 3.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game before her injury.
Wings Can Now Find Paige Bueckers a New Teammate
This move also gives the Wings an open roster spot, one they could fill immediately with an emergency hardship contract. This would allow said player to be available for Wednesday's game.
The Wings have a loaded backcourt with Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale, who combine to average 34.2 points per game. But defensively, the Wings have allowed the fourth most points on average per game, at 86.6. They've also given up the third-highest field goal percentage at 44.9 percent.
Transition defense has been a point of emphasis for the Wings this season, with Wings center Li Yueru calling it out in July:
“First things, maybe improve the transition defense,” she said. “We still have some problems to figure out, so I think we will improve that going back home, and yeah, I think we will be better.”
With the deadline approaching, the Wings could look to make a splash by giving Bueckers and Ogunbowale some help defensively.
Related: Dallas Wings to Get First Look at Trade Additions in Game vs. Liberty
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
