Dallas Wings Announce Trade After Unfortunate Roster Decision
Dallas Wings Announce Trade After Unfortunate Roster Decision originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
To begin the weekend, Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings continued their rough start to the 2025 WNBA season, sitting at 1-11 and last place in the standings.
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On Friday, Bueckers and the Wings fell to A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces 88-84. Despite the loss, Bueckers continued her solid rookie season, tallying 16 points and five assists.
But, with Dallas struggling, it elected to make a roster decision on Saturday, releasing guard Kaila Charles.
"Thank you, Kaila," the Wings wrote on X. "The Dallas Wings have waived Kaila Charles."
Charles played in every game for the Wings this season except for Friday night's loss. She was averaging 4.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 14.0 minutes per game.
Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington with Paige BueckersMark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
However, there was likely a good reason for this roster cut, as just a minute later, the Wings also announced that they have traded a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick to the Seattle Storm for center Li Yueru.
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Since Dallas did not send a player in return for Yueru, they had to get their roster back down to 12 players, which likely led to Charles' release.
"OFFICIAL: The Dallas Wings have acquired center Li Yueru from the Seattle Storm in exchange for two future draft selections."
Yueru, standing at 6-foot-7 from Shanxi, China, was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the third round of the 2019 WNBA Draft. However, she didn't make a WNBA roster until 2022, when she played 16 games for the Chicago Sky. She also had a short stint with the LA Sparks.
In 2025 with Seattle, Yueru is averaging 2.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. But her trade may not come as a surprise to some, as Yueru had requested a trade in early June.
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"I don't feel I have enough time on the court," Yueru said. "I came here only to play the game. I'm really happy and appreciative because I know many teammates, I've made many new friends and know many different staff, coach. These really let me feel happy, and I'm so glad for that, but playing is one of the important things for me."
Related: Indiana Fever Make Sophie Cunningham Announcement on Friday
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
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