The group led by former Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca is reportedly working with the Connecticut Sun’s current owners, the Mohegan tribal nation, to salvage the sale of the team with the WNBA, per a recent article from ESPN reporters Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne. Per ESPN, the Sun’s current owners plan to offer several options to the league, which appears to prefer moving the ball club out of New England entirely to Houston, Texas.
The Mohegan tribe will reportedly propose one of 1) selling the team to Pagliuca’s group with the implied move to Boston, 2) a sale of the team to former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry with a move to Hartford, Connecticut, 3) selling a minority stake of the team, or 4) allowing the WNBA to buy the franchise for $325 million and relocate it where it likes.
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While there may be some degree of disagreement between WNBA fans in the region as to whether it would be better to keep the team in a market where there is great support for the team even in down seasons, or to move it to a bigger metropolitan area in Boston, fans across New England have voiced strong support for keeping the team in the region.
At the same time, the tribe reportedly feels pressured by the WNBA to sell the team to a buyer that would anger fans in both Connecticut and Massachusetts. “A source close to the ownership group says the tribe is frustrated and feels the league is presenting a one-path option: relocation of the team to a market of its choosing at a value of its choosing,” writes ESPN.
The situation has many wondering why the league can’t simply grant an expansion team to Houston and let one of the deals to keep the team local. With the Seattle SuperSonics debacle of the NBA yet to be resolved nearly two decades on with rancor still a stain on NBA fandom, a path forward that could make all parties happy seems within reach.
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If the WNBA can get out of its own way, that is.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Ex- Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca group working to salvage CT Sun sale
