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With the August 7 WNBA trade deadline fast approaching, Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale is the most high-profile name that might move — at least that we know of. A blockbuster deal that would send her to the Las Vegas Aces in exchange for Jewell Loyd, however, seems far-fetched. Or is it?
The Ringer's Seerat Sohi proposed such a deal, and the mechanics of it make a lot of sense. For one thing, the two All-Star guards have the exact same salary, saving both the Wings and Aces from any salary cap gymnastics. More importantly, Sohi argues that each player might just fit better on the other team.
“Ogunbowale would certainly be a more natural fit with the Aces offense, which relies heavily on guard creation and pick-and-rolls with [A'ja] Wilson,” she wrote. “It would also be fascinating to see how dangerous Ogunbowale could be as the de facto no. 2 scoring option, surrounded by threats.”
She added that Ogunbowale's “is0-heavy style” clashed with rookie Paige Bueckers' style, which led to a dip in the veteran guard's numbers until recently.
Her re-emergence has made the Wings' decision to trade her a little more difficult — even if the Aces throw in a few second-round draft picks to sweeten the pot.
Jewell Loyd could move at the WNBA trade deadline
Similar to Ogunbowale, Loyd struggled to fit in with the Aces earlier in the year. As Sohi writes, “she was relegated to a role as a spot-up shooter since being traded to the Aces during the offseason. Since asking to come off the bench, though, the Gold Mamba has looked a lot more like her zippy, tough-shot-making self.”
That aligns much more with what Bueckers brings to the table in Dallas.
Further complicating matters, Loyd appears happy in her first season in Las Vegas. Even after the Aces' historic blowout loss to the Minnesota Lynx, she spoke glowingly of the Vegas locker room.
“This locker room is so close,” she said. “The confidence level for each player, day in and day out, is there. That’s the beautiful part. There’s no drama. You can have a season like this and it can be a terrible one, terrible teammates. That’s not the case here.”
