Houston Rockets owners, led by Tillman and Patrick Fertitta, are in substantial talks with the Connecticut Sun about purchasing and relocating the WNBA team, ESPN reported Friday.
ESPN’s Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne wrote, citing a person familiar with the situation: “Discussions are considered positive and Rockets ownership has increased its offer to a number that the Suns would likely accept.”
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As for the time for reaching an agreement, it may not be too far away, but there are still questions about the specific window period. ESPN explains:
Hoping to make a decision on the team’s future before hitting free agency, all but two league veterans are uncontracted. However, the exact timing of free agency is uncertain as the league and the players union continue to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement…the current agreement’s deadline is January 9, 2026.
However, ESPN warns that the exclusivity agreement has not yet been signed. Report from Philippou and Shelburne:
While a formal offer has been discussed, the parties have yet to sign an exclusivity agreement and no decision has been made on the future of the franchise, sources said.
The WNBA has previously expressed strong interest in returning to Houston. During the league’s three-team expansion announcement in June, Commissioner Casey Engelbert singled out Houston and Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta as “next up” and “someone we’re looking at.”
The Suns have been owned by the Mohegan Tribe since 2003, when they purchased the team and moved it from Orlando, Florida, to Uncasville, Connecticut. Selling ownership to the Rockets would mark the latest example of the WNBA moving toward having more teams with NBA owners.
From 1997 to 2008, Houston was home to the now-defunct Comets. Led by icons such as Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson, the Comets won the WNBA’s first four championships in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000. But as the team lost influence over the next few years, fan interest waned, eventually leading to the team’s disbandment in the late 2000s.
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In recent years, however, interest in women’s basketball has grown across the United States – with young stars like Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese driving a new wave of fans. The resurgence of fan interest has improved the economics of the sport and the league, which in turn has led to increased interest in WNBA teams.
In addition to having Toyota Center as a ready-made arena and state-of-the-art training facility, the Rockets also co-own their own regional sports television channel on Space City Home Networks, a natural fit for televising WNBA games during the NBA offseason. So perhaps more than some other cities, Houston has the infrastructure in place to support a new team immediately.
It’s unclear when the Suns plan to move, assuming a deal is finalized (with Houston or another market). The schedule remains uncertain, with the Suns officially announcing in August that the team would play games in its existing arena in 2026. Therefore, it will move to the new home stadium as soon as 2027.
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In May, The Sun’s owners hired investment bank Allen & Company to explore selling the franchise. Mohegan Sun, a subsidiary of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, has owned the club since it relocated from Orlando in 2003.
The Suns play in the WNBA’s smallest media market, and they finish 2025 with the league’s third-worst record (11-33). As a result, there has been speculation for some time that this move may prove necessary.
More: NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirms Houston has strong interest in WNBA
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets ownership in ‘substantial talks’ to bring WNBA team to Houston
