“We have Houston sitting out there,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver says. “They have ownership in Tilman Fertitta, and they very much want a team.”
Yesterday at @FOS Tuned In summit NBA commissioner Adam Silver defended the W’s involvement in the sale of the Connecticut Sun.
More on what was said and where the sale stands here: https://t.co/VNswCuOMnp
— Annie Costabile (@AnnieCostabile) September 17, 2025
In recent weeks, WNBA leaders have faced criticism for their apparent focus on Houston as a potential relocation destination for the Connecticut Sun.
Now, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver — whose league owns a significant stake of the WNBA — is pushing back and sharing his side of the story.
At this week’s Front Office SportsTuned In summit, Silver said of the ongoing sale process (via Front Office Sports, or FOS):
They have every right to sell the team in their market. But then we started to be contacted by people in Boston and elsewhere saying that there was a suggestion that they could buy a team in one market and take it to another. That’s sort of black-letter law in sports leagues: You can’t do that. You’re buying that market. Teams have different values in different markets, and we view those other markets as expansion markets.
According to FOS, the Sun sale is currently “at a standstill.”
“Among the proposals are a pair of $325-million offers from Steve Pagliuca and Marc Lasry, both former NBA minority owners,” Annie Costabile writes. “But Pagliuca wants to move the team to Boston, and Lasry wants to move it to Hartford, Connecticut.”
As Silver explained, those two markets did not go through the WNBA’s most recent expansion process. Houston did and was among the finalists.
“We just went through expansion in the WNBA,” Silver said. “We expanded to three cities. We ran a process that went for almost a year and cities came to us and said ‘Here’s our operational plan for how we’ll operate. Here’s where the practice facility will be. Here’s how we’re going to market the league. Here’s who ownership is going to be.’ We ended up in Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Detroit. Boston did not apply at that time for an expansion team, and frankly, neither did Hartford.”
The league has offered to buy the Sun for $250 million, per FOS reporting, and that figure would match the recent expansion fees paid by Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. “In that scenario, the path would be cleared to move the team to Houston,” Costabile writes.
However, that figure is below what the Mohegan Tribe — owners of the Sun franchise since 2003 — were reportedly offered by potential owners in those other markets. Boston and Hartford are also located in the same New England region, which would be far more convenient for existing fans and stakeholders.
Thus, the standoff.
Per Costabile, the tribe has not yet met with the league to discuss a path forward. However, a meeting is scheduled, FOS reports.
Assuming the Sun remain up for sale, NBA and WNBA officials are seemingly hoping to reach a resolution that leads to the team relocating to Houston.
“We have Houston sitting out there,” Silver said. “They have ownership there in Tilman Fertitta. Before he was owner of the current Houston Rockets, the Comets were one of the most successful WNBA franchises back in the day, and they very much want a team.”
Adam Silver talked WNBA relocation yesterday at the @FOS TunedIn Summit.
Both NBA + WNBA commissioner now note Houston as a preferred landing spot for relocation or expansion franchise.
Silver on Houston’s still-alive bid for the Connecticut Sun:
“They very much want a team.” pic.twitter.com/mgt89XXkoD
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) September 18, 2025
From 1997 through 2008, Houston was home to the now-shuttered Comets. Led by iconic names such as Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson, the Comets won the WNBA’s first four titles in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. But fan interest gradually waned as the team lost relevance in the years that followed, and that eventually led to the franchise being dissolved by the end of the 2000s.
In recent years, however, interest in women’s basketball has picked up throughout the United States — with younger stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers helping drive a new wave of fandom. That resurgent fan interest has led to improved economics for the sport and the league, and in turn, that has prompted increased interest in WNBA expansion and the creation of new franchises.
In addition to having an NBA arena to play and host fans in (Toyota Center) and a state-of-the-art practice complex, the Rockets also jointly own their own regional sports television channel in Space City Home Network, which would be a natural fit to broadcast WNBA games during the NBA offseason. Thus, perhaps in contrast to some other cities, Houston has ready-made infrastructure to immediately support a new team.
As evidenced by Silver’s comments, officials with the NBA and WNBA appear to agree.
It is not yet clear when the Sun plan to relocate, assuming a deal is ultimately finalized (with Houston or another market). The timetable remains fluid, and Sun officials recently announced that the team would play at its existing arena in 2026. Thus, the soonest year for a potential new home would be 2027.
In May, owners of the Sun hired investment bank Allen & Company to explore the sale of the franchise. The Mohegan Sun, a subsidiary of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, has owned the club since its relocation from Orlando in 2003.