Fernandez defends Kuier start after Smith bench talk

After the Dallas Wings’ 91-76 win over the New York Liberty, coach Jose Fernandez pushed back on “benched” talk, insisting Awak Kuier’s second-half start was a matchup choice—not a demotion for Alanna Smith. Kuier delivered 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and

Jose Fernandez doesn’t like the word “benched.”

He made that clear after the Wings’ 91-76 win over the New York Liberty, when he was asked about Alanna Smith’s limited minutes following the decision to insert Awak Kuier into the starting lineup for the second half.

“I don’t look at it as anyone getting benched, right?” Fernandez said in the postgame media availability. “I don’t like to use that word. It’s just rotationally and matchup-wise, we just felt on the offensive and defenisve end, having her in the game would give us the best opportunity for success.”

The move wasn’t subtle. In a game where the Liberty were short-handed without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Leonie Fiebich, the Wings still got what they were looking for from Kuier against a frontcourt that included Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, and Satou Sabally.

Kuier was completely unfazed by the Liberty’s star-studded big forwards. She finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks. She was also +17 in a season-high 24 minutes.

For Fernandez, the sharper question may not be whether Kuier played well. It’s what that performance is starting to do to the conversation around Smith.

Kuier’s most notable progress this season has been her 3-point shooting. The Wings forward entered the year with a steady improvement curve, but this part has jumped off the page. Across her first three seasons with the Wings, she made nine 3-pointers total. This year, she’s already 5-10.

At 6’6” and with her athleticism, adding a usable 3-point shot gives Dallas a different kind of spacing threat—one that changes how opponents have to defend the Wings’ bigger lineups.

Smith, though, has struggled to start the season in a way that makes her role feel more fragile than the label “max contract” should suggest.

She is averaging 3.7 points on 33.3% shooting from the field, along with 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game.

Fernandez may not be talking about “benching. ” but the results are forcing the team’s lineup to do more explaining than the coach wants. Smith is signed to a max contract and was one of the Wings’ prized free agency additions. so replacing her in the starting lineup long-term doesn’t feel like the most realistic outcome—even if Kuier keeps earning minutes.

Early lineup data has complicated that comfort.

The Wings’ most-used lineup so far—Odyssey Sims. Arike Ogunbowale. Paige Bueckers. Jessica Shepard. and Alanna Smith—has been together for 56 total minutes and is -31 in that stretch. Swap Smith out for Kuier. and the story flips in a small but telling sample: that same lineup has only played seven minutes. yet it is +2 in that time.

The numbers get sharper when Fernandez makes the common second-half adjustment that started against the Liberty—replacing Sims with Azzi Fudd. With Ogunbowale, Fudd, Bueckers, Shepard, and Kuier, the lineup has been +18 in 27 minutes so far.

Seven games is a small sample size. But it’s also long enough for fans and staff to see what’s working right now, and for the uncomfortable fit between Smith and Dallas’ early rhythm to become impossible to ignore.

Smith still has time to find the form that made her an “irreplaceable asset” for the Minnesota Lynx in 2024 and 2025—two seasons in which the Lynx were considered championship contenders. If she returns to that level. the early-season concerns may fade and the Wings’ lineup decisions may look more like ordinary rotation management.

But if Smith’s struggles continue while Kuier keeps playing well going forward, Fernandez may eventually have to make a decision he can’t dodge with semantics—about whether “rotationally and matchup-wise” is enough, or whether Smith’s role has to change for the team to keep winning.

Dallas Wings New York Liberty Jose Fernandez Awak Kuier Alanna Smith WNBA lineup decisions 3-point shooting Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Leonie Fiebich Breanna Stewart Jonquel Jones Sabrina Ionescu Satou Sabally