After early hiccups in the season, the Dallas Wings are flying high. The team has won five of its last six games, with every piece of its rotation falling in place. Yet despite these favorable outcomes, one of Paige Bueckers’ teammates hasn’t performed well this season, prompting murmurs of a potential midseason trade. 

Surprisingly, the player involved in this projected trade proposal is the one who generated the most excitement among the Dallas Wings in free agency. Last season’s co-defensive player of the year, Alanna Smith, is the one in question in this proposal, with a future at the Indiana Fever.

Analysts at the Good Follow YouTube channel also supported the trade proposal, explaining why a move to Indiana could make sense despite Dallas committing $3.75 million to Smith over three years.

“Trysta, you were on Stewie’s podcast earlier this week and talked about it. Let’s hear what Stewie had to say,” said show producer Jess. The show then played a clip from Breanna Stewart’s Game Recognize Game podcast, where the Liberty star identified one key challenge Smith faces this season. “Also, the mask seemed tough. We played against her, and it felt like she couldn’t really see to the sides, right? Like, you can only see straight ahead,” Stewart said.

For most of the season, Smith has worn the mask while playing. The reason behind it stems from a nasal fracture she suffered in the preseason. But that’s not the only reason behind Smith’s struggles with the Wings.

“I think y’all spot on with this one, bro, because how Jose be taking and handling Alanna,” co-host Juju Gotti said. “Like, it doesn’t be in the most appreciation-ish look that we see these coaches have. Although Coach Jose has his own brand. So we’re always going to get that out. But I can see Alanna Smith make a really big impact at Fever, bro.”

The numbers reflect the entire story for Smith. Despite coming off a high last season, Smith hasn’t really fit perfectly with the team. She’s averaging just 18 minutes per game, despite starting 7 of her 8 games this season. For context, Azzi Fudd, who plays mostly off the bench, averages around 25 minutes per game.

Limited minutes mirror her mediocre stats. 3.9 ppg, 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals aren’t numbers that you’d expect from Smith, especially considering that she was recording in the neighborhood of 9 points per game in her last three seasons at the W. She also contributed 1.9 blocks per game last season.

Dallas’ frontcourt is also pretty crowded this season. They already have players like Jessica Shepard doing most of the heavy lifting, leading the team in rebounds (11.0) while also averaging 12.6 points per game. This has pushed Smith further below in the pecking order, and that’s why the trade makes even more sense.

“This Dallas Wings situation, Jessica Shepard has rose so cream above the crop situation that you get somebody that’s going to kind of play around her,” Gotti said. “So, yeah, I think this is a good trade.”

Meanwhile, the Indiana Fever desperately needs a player like Smith on their roster. Of course, they have an array of frontcourt players, including Aliyah Boston, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Monique Billings. But a post player who can stretch the floor and provide defensive stability would be a valuable addition for the Fever right now.

Alanna Smith also had a brief stint with the Fever in 2022, playing just 9 games. In fact, during free agency as well, many media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, echoed that Smith would be a perfect fit for the Indiana Fever, given their roster requirements. The Wings got Smith instead. And the Fever were left with a defense that continues to be a concern.

The Fever currently own a mediocre defensive rating of 103.7 and have also given away too many points in certain games. Considering these circumstances, Smith can be a better utility player with the Fever. And the franchise would benefit immensely from this trade.

But to make it evenly possible, the Fever would have to be equally good at framing their offer to keep the Wings interested, particularly because Paige Bueckers’ team signed Smith for the long term. It will be interesting to see how this trade fiasco eventually unfolds in the coming weeks. For now, the team doesn’t seem to have lost all its trust in Smith.

Paige Bueckers and Jose Fernandez Rest Their Faith on Alanna Smith

Trade speculation surrounding Alanna Smith is likely to continue until she delivers a breakout performance this season. However, both Jose Fernandez and Paige Bueckers have publicly expressed their confidence in the veteran forward.

Speaking in an interview before the Las Vegas Aces game, head coach Fernandez was asked to shed light on Smith’s performances in the season.

“We signed Alanna for a reason,” the Dallas head coach said in reply. “There’s so many things that go into someone’s performance,” Fernandez had said as per The Dallas Morning News. “She’s very hard on herself, and she cares, and she’s a winner.”

“So what she’s going through right now and having to play with a mask …I think she needs to be shown some grace,” Fernandez added.

Bueckers, too, has lauded Smith’s leadership during the conversation, remarking that the latter helps the team in several ways that the fans don’t see.

“She’s a competitor. She just wants to win,” Bueckers had said as per The Dallas Morning News. “She carries a huge, huge presence on this team defensively and being our anchor and being our communicator and our leader that way..But to have her on the floor, there’s a lot of stuff that you don’t see behind the scenes.”

It won’t be surprising to see if the Dallas Wings actually stick with Alanna Smith this season. Her ceiling with the Wings remains high, despite a scoring slump. But if Smith eventually comes back to her best form, the Wings can eventually be looking at the strongest frontcourt duo with Jessica Shepard and Smith.

On top of that, the Wings will hope Smith continues building chemistry with her new teammates as the season progresses.