The Houston Rockets ownership group led by Tillman Fertitta is in talks with the owner of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun to potentially purchase the team and relocate it to Houston, according to reports.
Houston has been without a WNBA franchise since 2008, when the Comets disbanded despite being one of the league’s best teams, winning four straight WNBA titles and featuring all-time greats like Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper and Tina Thompson.
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Now the Mohegan Tribe, which currently owns the Sun, is looking to sell it, and the WNBA would love to put it in the hands of an owner who already owns the NBA. The Rockets group has reportedly already offered $250 million, with Suns ownership closing in on the $325 million offered by former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, who reportedly moved the team to Beantown. The WNBA blocked that deal and the Rockets reportedly increased their offer, although the final figure has not yet been made public.
The WNBA also attempted to purchase the Sun, intending to hand the franchise over to the Rockets themselves, but that deal never came to fruition either. But with the Houston group now doing its best to meet the Sun’s expectations, it appears a sale is imminent, although the report emphasizes that a deal is not final.
The Sun also explored ways to keep the franchise in Connecticut, including even partnering with the State of Connecticut as an owner of a minor stake, but those discussions also ultimately fell through.
The WNBA and all parties involved are trying to finalize something before WNBA Free Agency arrives, which is still up in the air as the league is still negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with the players’ association. We should know more after the New Year, when a resolution of the WNBA contract is supposed to be negotiated.
The WNBA might be coming back to H-town, and that’s a good thing. Houston was an OG of the WNBA, and it’s a shame they haven’t had a team for 17 years now.
