for the folks (like me) that are new, could you explain: essentially the wings are trying to tank but rebuild in the next year with free agents+ draft picks, mainly building around Paige?
I’m going to keep this short but yes the Wings are rebuilding around Paige. They’re including Paige (and Arike in convos about trading and stuff)
I don’t think they were initially trying to tank but they are now. Like they’re still hoping to win a few games but it would be dumb for them to try and go on a win streak because they’ll make it to the playoffs, get knocked out in the first round, and have no lottery pick. So they’re essentially trying to develop players they want to keep + stay in the lottery.
Curt trading Dijonai was actually smart (despite people being sad and mad). She wasn’t going to resign in Dallas so Curt got some assets (the pick and players). Diamond is stuck with us till 2027 because she’s not a Free Agent. So Dallas essentially gets a young role player and if it doesn’t work they can trade her (her contract is also way smaller than Dijonai’s was which it’ll be easier to trade) for someone else instead of just letting her walk with nothing in return.