DHJ Quick Take: The System Shift
- The European Influence: Head coach Jose Fernandez is moving the Wings away from isolation-heavy sets toward a “European-style” approach centered on ball movement and misdirection. As Curt Miller noted, the goal is to keep the defense in constant rotation.
- Unlocking Bueckers Off-Ball: By utilizing veterans like Odyssey Sims and Lindsay Allen to handle primary point guard duties, Fernandez is freeing Paige Bueckers to attack closeouts and use staggered screens. This reduces the physical toll of bringing the ball up against pressure while maximizing her elite efficiency.
- The Unrivaled Carryover: Bueckers credited her offseason with Unrivaled for sharpening her ability to “read space and movement.” The three-on-three format’s emphasis on real-time decision-making is proving to be the perfect foundation for the “free-flowing” principles Fernandez is installing in Arlington.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings‘ offensive system under first-year head coach Jose Fernandez has continued to form throughout training camp. With Paige Bueckers as a focal point of the system, the team plans to maximize her impact with the basketball in her hands without overburdening her with a heavy workload by moving her around the half-court using off-ball techniques.
After almost a week of training camp, Bueckers said Fernandez’s offense fits her skill set well, with constant movement and misdirection unlocking opportunities that go beyond what a traditional ball-dominant point guard role would create.
“I think it’s the ability to move, change sides of the floor, get defenses in rotation, and attack closeouts, space, and transition,” Bueckers said. “There’s never a stagnant moment. It’s a lot of free-flowing movement, screening, and misdirection. That helps with my off-ball movement, coming off screens, using screens, and also on the ball.”
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in 33.3 minutes per game across 36 starts as a rookie, shooting 47.7% from the field, 33.1% from beyond the arc, and 88.8% from the free-throw line on her way to Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and All-WNBA Second Team honors.
A System Built on Movement and Misdirection
Wings general manager Curt Miller described Fernandez‘s offensive philosophy in detail before training camp opened, framing it as a European-style approach centered on player and ball movement rather than isolation reads.
“The easiest way to sum it up is he gets the best players the ball, and he puts them in position to find success,” Miller told Dallas Hoops Journal. “He loves player movement, ball movement, and a lot of misdirection, very much more European style.”
The on-court work in training camp has clearly emphasized side-to-side ball movement and off-ball cutting concepts, and Bueckers’ description of “never a stagnant moment” mirrors what the staff has reinforced in drills. When Bueckers is off-ball, she’s spent time coming off screens, whether in double staggers early out of the corner, simple pindowns as plays develop, or receiving a Flare screen later in the clock. She’s also been deployed as a screener in various ways, including as a back-screener in Stack pick-and-roll and as the first screener in double drag before curling off a pindown. When the team is whole, it’s likely she’ll have sequences for Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale to screen for each other.
Jose Fernandez’s Vision for Paige Bueckers
Fernandez said from Day 1 that his approach to coaching Bueckers would be rooted in putting her in environments where she can succeed, whether on or off the ball or in transition.
“Great players want to be told the truth,” Fernandez said on Day 1. “My job is to put her in the best situations possible, for her to be successful in the open floor, in the half court with the ball, and playing off the ball.”
He has also made it clear that Bueckers will spend significant time off the ball this season, with veterans like Odyssey Sims and Lindsay Allen, plus second-year guards JJ Quinerly and Grace Berger, taking on point guard reps.
“Right now, you’ve got Paige at the point guard spot, but I plan on playing her a lot on the wing,” Fernandez said on Day 2. “Then you’ve got Lindsay Allen, Odyssey Sims, JJ, and Grace. That’s what camp is about, figuring that out along with roster construction.”
By Day 6, Fernandez had begun outlining the off-ball packages he plans to lean on, with Bueckers moving through staggered screens, pin-downs, basket cuts, and even taking on a screener role to weaponize her gravity.
“With Odyssey, J.J., Lindsay Allen, and Grace, there’s a package with Paige off the ball,” Fernandez said. “She draws so much attention, so the more we can free her up with screens, staggered actions, pin-downs, basket cuts, even using her as a screener, it helps. If her defender has to help, we can bring her off the screen and create advantages.”
A Skill Set Suited for the System
The off-ball elements of Fernandez’s offense fit naturally with how Bueckers has described her own development. After her offseason at Unrivaled, she said the three-on-three format taught her how to read space and movement in ways that translate directly to the half-court principles Fernandez has installed.
“Three-on-three basketball also teaches you how to move in isolation, in space, offensively and defensively,” Bueckers said earlier in camp. “I learned a lot about myself.”
Miller identified that off-ball comfort as a defining trait of Bueckers’ game when discussing the franchise’s roster construction last summer.
“Paige’s efficiency and versatility give us a lot of flexibility in roster construction,” Miller told Dallas Hoops Journal. “She enjoys being off the ball and then brought back into actions, not worn down by defensive point guards pressuring her full court. She works well with a true point guard. At the same time, Paige can be on the ball in bigger lineups, allowing for some big-guard looks.”
Roster Pieces Around Her
Bueckers said the roster the Wings have built this offseason gives the new system the tools to function on both ends, with depth and versatility she did not have access to as a rookie.
“I’m super excited. We got a lot of great pieces in free agency. We added Azzi through the draft and have training camp additions,” Bueckers said. “It’s been really fun to compete. Like last year, we’re all learning together, going through it together, bonding and communicating.”
The talent Bueckers referenced ties directly to the actions Fernandez has been implementing. Azzi Fudd‘s gravity as a shooter creates the closeouts Bueckers mentioned attacking. Alanna Smith‘s perimeter shooting as a stretch big opens lanes for the misdirection sets to function. Jessica Shepard‘s playmaking from the elbow enables the kind of free-flowing movement Bueckers laid out, and Ogunbowale’s shot creation gives the Wings a release valve when sets break down.
“We have a lot of versatility offensively and defensively, shooting, length, aggressive defensive mentality,” Bueckers said. “We have a Defensive Player of the Year-type presence, and Jess is one of the best playmakers in the league at the four. Bringing back Arike and having those core pieces with great additions, it’s really exciting.”
Comfort Within the Movement
Fernandez’s goal is to get the most out of Bueckers, regardless of how she’s being deployed on or off the ball. The coaching staff will position her in sequences that will create touches for her to attack the defense with an advantage.
“It’s fun to move her around, but it’s also about keeping her comfortable in the places we put her, whether that’s with the ball in her hands or off the ball,” Fernandez said. “I’m not going to put her in situations she’s not comfortable with. That defeats the purpose.”
Bueckers said the clarity of Fernandez’s approach has been a key factor in the team’s early adjustment.
“It gives you confidence. Everyone knows their role and what it’s going to take,” Bueckers said earlier in camp. “If someone steps outside the culture, he holds us accountable. It helps you hold yourself accountable, too. That clarity builds confidence across the team.”
The Wings will get their first chance to see how the offensive scheme looks against outside competition on April 30, when they debut in the preseason against the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
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