Good news? Bad news? Or, a mix of both?<\/p>\n
The Houston Comets are coming back! The Connecticut Sun are going away.<\/p>\n
The long-rumored relocation<\/a> of the Sun from Connecticut to Houston, with the concomitant revival of the Comets branding, is happening, as first reported by PaperCity Magazine<\/a>. Per ESPN<\/a>, an official announcement is expected to be made on Monday.<\/p>\n This outcome is not unexpected as, after the final round of expansion teams were announced, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert expressed her affinity for Houston\u2019s bid, led by the owners of the NBA\u2019s Houston Rockets, Tillman Fertitta and his family, and signaled that the league would like to see a franchise return to the market.<\/p>\n The commissioner is getting her wish, with the Fertitta-led group purchasing the team from the Mohegan Sun Tribe for $300 million, and with no relocation fee.<\/p>\n The Comets are set to re-debut in 2027 as the Sun will set on the WNBA\u2019s time in Connecticut during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n The manner in which the league has appeared to sternly (and Sternly<\/a>) steer the Sun\/Comets to Houston and the resistance to giving fair consideration<\/a> to other viable alternatives\u2014a group led by former Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca<\/a> reached an initial deal to purchase the franchise and move it to Boston followed by a group headed by Milwaukee Bucks minority owner Marc Lasry subsequently offering $325 million to move the team to Hartford\u2014has resulted in a situation that inspires mixed, contradicting emotions.<\/p>\n Yes, the Comets, the definitional franchise of the WNBA\u2019s first era, are rightfully returning to the league. But to right that wrong, the WNBA is creating a new wrong, not only leaving the history of the Sun homeless but robbing Connecticut and the wider New England region of the franchise they supported, even in the lean years when the WNBA was widely considered a doomed-to-fail charity project.<\/p>\n In addition to the suspected backroom wheeling and dealing that permitted the stonewalling of richer proposals that would have kept the team in the northeast, the dubious affiliations of Fertitta<\/a> adds a deeper sense of ickiness to this whole transaction.<\/p>\n As someone who was young, front-running basketball fan back when the WNBA launched in the late 1990s, I, of course, rooted for the Comets. A Cynthia Cooper jersey topped my Christmas list after the league\u2019s first season. I agree that the Comets and their history belong in the league.<\/p>\n But, the desire to see the restoration of the Comets shouldn\u2019t be achieved through a similar execution of basketball injustice.<\/p>\n The Sun haven\u2019t been some downtrodden franchise wasting away in the wilds of suburban Connecticut; they\u2019ve been one of the most successful and well-supported teams throughout their WNBA tenure. Keeping the Sun in New England in a larger city better suited to the changing financial realities of the WNBA, as well as the lifestyle preferences of players, would honor the legacy the Sun established and sustained.<\/p>\n