Former NBA coach emerges as candidate to lead Paige Bueckers’ Wings originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Dallas Wings have to get this right. Following the dismissal of first-year head coach Chris Koclanes last month, general manager Curt Miller is under pressure to hit paydirt on his second coaching hire. The Wings’ cabal of young players — led by WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers — needs stability and room to develop as Dallas prepares for big organizational changes in the next two years.
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In 2026, the Wings will open a new practice facility; in 2027, the team will move to a renovated Memorial Auditorium in downtown Dallas. The Wings’ profile will grow in tandem with Bueckers — a winning player who surely found it more than a little jarring when her rookie season ended with Dallas posting a 10-34 record.
MORE: Paige Bueckers’ Wings named best landing spot for Caitlin Clark’s All-Star teammate
The Athletic on Friday reported that the Wings’ search for a Koclanes replacement is still in its early stages, but Miller is prioritizing coaches with previous head coaching experience. That includes Sandy Brondello, who was fired last month by the New York Liberty. However, Brondello is also a leading candidate in Seattle and Toronto; the Tempo in particular are said to be centering their search on the two-time WNBA champion.
Dallas’ possible alternatives include Joseph Blair, the head coach of the Houston Rockets’ G League affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers, as well as a surprise contender: Milwaukee Bucks assistant Dave Joerger, a former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and the “Grit and Grind” era Memphis Grizzlies.
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Joerger’s emergence as a candidate in Dallas marks the latest indicator of a growing trend: NBA assistants increasingly turning to the WNBA for a shot as a head coach. The expansion Portland Fire‘s appointment of Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama on Friday followed the Phoenix Mercury‘s hiring of former Orlando Magic assistant Nate Tibbetts in 2023 and the Las Vegas Aces‘ seminal choice to hire Becky Hammon from Gregg Popovich’s staff in San Antonio a year earlier.
Joerger has a 245-247 record as an NBA head coach, a position he last held in 2019. Since then, he has worked under Doc Rivers in Philadelphia and in Milwaukee — but he may be heading west soon to link up with Bueckers and the Wings down in Dallas.
