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WNBA announces Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia in new expansion<\/p>\n
USA TODAY’s Meghan Hall breaks down the news of the WNBA expansion teams to three new cities and what this means to the league.<\/p>\n
Sports Seriously<\/p>\n
The push to bring the WNBA back to the city of Houston<\/a>, where one of the league’s original franchises won four championships, is becoming more intense.<\/p>\n According to a new ESPN report<\/a>, the Houston Rockets<\/a> ownership group is in “substantive” talks with the Connecticut Sun to purchase and relocate the franchise. Talks have been described as “positive,” while Rockets ownership works on a purchase offer that is acceptable to the Sun. While an exclusivity agreement has not been signed, and a decision has not been made on the franchise’s, a formal offer has been discussed.<\/p>\n USA TODAY has reached out to the WNBA for comment.<\/p>\n News of the Rockets’ offer comes almost six months after WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert specifically called out Houston during a June 30 expansion team announcement for Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia. Houston did not receive a bid at the time after entering into the picture later in the process.<\/p>\n “There are a variety of cities that obviously bid, and one of those I wanted to shout out because they have such a strong history in this league and they are a great ownership group, is Houston,” Engelbert said at the time.”<\/p>\n Over the last several months, the Sun have explored options to “strategically invest in the team,” including a potential sale. In August, reports surfaced that a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca<\/a> had reached a deal to buy the Sun for a record $325 million and relocate the franchise to Boston. However, the WNBA reportedly blocked the deal<\/a>, saying cities that applied for expansion first “have priority over Boston.<\/a>“<\/p>\n Sun ownership then attempted to present multiple options<\/a> to the WNBA in an attempt to salvage a deal to sell the team, including a plan that would allow the state of Connecticut to buy a stake in the team<\/a> to keep the Sun there. According to the latest report from ESPN, there is a growing hope that Connecticut’s future can be determined before the start of the 2026 free agency period.<\/p>\n However, the date of free agency remains to be seen and cannot move forward until a new league CBA is in place. The WNBA and WNBA Players Association agreed to a January 9 deadline, but a recent vote to strike<\/a> should talks continue as they are could further complicate negotiations.<\/p>\n