DHJ Quick Take: The Defensive X-Factor
- The Immigration Bottleneck: While the rest of the “Top 8” arrivals are scheduled through Monday, Awak Kuier remains in a holding pattern. As Curt Miller noted, the process is complex and involves a layered collaboration between the league and legal counsel. For Jose Fernandez, this means his most versatile frontcourt “chess piece” may miss the bulk of the system install at College Park Center.
- EuroLeague Elite: Kuier is returning to the WNBA after a dominant stint with Galatasaray. Leading the EuroLeague in blocks (1.6 BPG) and ranking fifth in efficiency, she has evolved from a rotational prospect into a high-impact interior force. Her ability to shoot 40.9% from three in Turkey adds a “Stretch 4” dimension that will be vital for the second unit’s spacing.
- The Second Unit Anchor: In Miller‘s projected rotation, Kuier anchors a “strong 10” alongside Odyssey Sims, Aziaha James, Maddy Siegrist, and Li Yueru. Her length is the specific tool the Wings need to maintain defensive intensity when Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard head to the bench.
- Nightly Remote Drills: To mitigate the delay, the coaching staff is conducting nightly remote sessions with Kuier to teach terminology and sets. This digital bridge ensures that when her paperwork finally clears, she can transition directly into five-on-five work with Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Dallas Wings forward Awak Kuier is the only member of the team’s overseas group without a confirmed return date to training camp, general manager Curt Miller said, as Kuier awaits an immigration appointment in Finland with no set timeline.
Kuier has finished her overseas season and is back home, but she has been unable to join the Wings at their College Park Center facility while the paperwork works its way through the process. First-year head coach Jose Fernandez is continuing to install a new system in her absence.
“Awak Kuier is done with her season and is back in Finland awaiting her immigration appointment,” Miller said. “We don’t have a timeline yet for her return.”
Only Dallas Wings Player Without a Return Date
Kuier is one of five Wings players who remained overseas heading into training camp, but she is the only one in the group without a projected arrival date in Dallas. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu is set to arrive Saturday from Serbia, Alanna Smith is expected back Saturday after handling her own immigration matters, and Jessica Shepard, Costanza Verona, and Arike Ogunbowale are all projected to return Monday.
Miller described the work behind international player arrivals as a layered effort involving the Wings’ front office, player representation, legal counsel, and the WNBA.
“There’s a lot of collaboration behind the scenes, assistant GMs, agents, immigration lawyers, the league office,” Miller said. “It’s a complex process.”
When sharing takeaways from camp, Miller identified Kuier as one of four projected top-eight players absent during the opening days of camp, along with Smith, Shepard, and Ogunbowale.
“The hardest part is on the coaching staff. Jose is implementing a new system, and we’re missing key players,” Miller said. “Four of our top eight players, Alanna Smith, Awak Kuier, Jess Shepard, and Arike, aren’t here. There needs to be patience and some grace early in the season.”
Projected Second Unit Role
Miller has penciled Kuier into the Wings’ projected 10-player rotation as part of a second unit he sees complementing a starting group of Paige Bueckers, Ogunbowale, No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd, Shepard, and Smith.
“When you look at a projected lineup of Paige, Arike, Azzi, Jess, and Alanna, and then a second unit of Odyssey, Aziaha, Maddy Siegrist, Awak, and Li, that’s a strong 10,” Miller said. “And we haven’t even mentioned Alysha Clark. We’re excited about the depth and how the roster is shaping up.”
Kuier’s 2026 season with Dallas will mark her first WNBA minutes since 2023. She has averaged 2.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists across 86 career games with the Wings, all in her three seasons in the league from 2021 through 2023. In her most recent WNBA season, Kuier averaged 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds across 37 games with four starts, working 10.8 minutes per contest as a frontcourt rotation piece.
Kuier is coming off a breakout international season with Turkish club Galatasaray, which finished runner-up in the KBSL. She averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals across 24 KBSL games while shooting .593 from the field and .409 from three.
In Euroleague play, Kuier averaged 12.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.0 steals across 17 games on .654 shooting. She led the Euroleague in blocks, finished second in double-doubles with five, and ranked fifth in efficiency and sixth in field goal percentage.
Remote Coaching Bridges the Gap
With no return date set, Kuier is among the Wings players absent who are receiving nightly remote installs from the Dallas coaching staff to help her catch up on Fernandez’s system once she arrives.
“The coaching staff is doing a tremendous job. After every practice, they communicate everything, terminology, sets, installs,” Miller said. “Practice ends, and then they go coach the players who weren’t there. That process continues throughout the night. It’s being received well, but it’s a big responsibility to coach remotely until those players arrive.”
What’s Next
Kuier’s Finland timeline remains the lone open question across the Wings’ staggered overseas return cycle.
The rest of the group is set to arrive over the weekend and into early next week, leaving Kuier as the last unresolved piece of Miller’s projected 10-player rotation as Dallas continues camp ahead of its exhibition opener against the Indiana Fever.
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