The Houston Rockets are in “substantive talks” with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun regarding potential purchase and relocation, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Alexa Philippou reported on Friday morning.
A formal offer has been discussed, but nothing has been signed and “there has not been a decision on the future of the franchise.”
The WNBA recently announced plans to expand to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia by 2030, and will add teams in Toronto and Portland next year. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has made it clear she wants to see a team in Houston, and noted the city is “up next when it comes to the timeline for evaluating bids.”
Houston was once home to the WNBA’s Comets from 1997 until 2008 when the team was disbanded. Connecticut has been home to the Sun since 2003, while Boston has never had a WNBA team.
Connecticut has been home to the Sun since 2003 when the Mohegan tribe bought and relocated the team from Orlando.
The sale of the Sun has been a topic for months. In August, Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca confirmed his offer to buy the Sun and relocate them to Boston from Connecticut. Pagliuca would also pay an extra $100 million to move the team and put together new training facilities.
However, former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry has matched Pagliuca’s $325 million offer and is willing to keep the Sun in Connecticut, but move them from Uncasville to Hartford, according to CT Insider.
The WNBA essentially blocked Pagliuca’s deal from progressing because the WNBA Board of Governors decides on where a team relocates, not the individual teams.
Houston, though, was always the WNBA’s “preferred landing spot.”
ESPN reported that a resolution on the Sun’s future is hopeful to be determined before free agency begins. But it’s unclear when that will begin due to the the players’ union and the league in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.