When I saw the news that the Connecticut Sun had been sold to Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta and would be moved to Houston, I had two questions: Would they take the Comets' name, and would this change the team’s approach to the offseason? We got an answer to the first question right away; we may have to wait a few more weeks for an answer to the second.

Barring a crazy trade or a Superstar player who really wanted to play in Connecticut, the Sun’s offseason appeared to be pretty straightforward. One season of a rebuild had netted them some intriguing young talent, but nobody who will definitely be on the team the next time they make the playoffs. Thus, the plan was almost certainly to use the 12th, 15th, and 18th picks to add to the young talent already on the roster, while adding players in free agency to fit that timeline and/or to put the young players in a position to succeed. Connecticut finished with the third-worst record last season, but with Dallas and Washington likely to improve and Chicago at least trying to improve, they would be in the driver’s seat for the best lottery odds for the 2027 draft.

Strictly speaking, that is probably still the plan. Connecticut doesn’t have the top-end young talent of Washington or Dallas, and until they acquire that talent, likely through the draft, they are not incentivized to try to accelerate the rebuild by adding veteran free agents the way those other two teams likely will. Being bad for a second straight season, while giving the young players an opportunity to spread their wings, especially makes sense given that the WNBA uses two-year records to determine lottery odds. Connecticut couldn’t benefit from being bad last season because they owed their pick to Chicago, but they own all their picks in 2027.

I wonder if either fan base has an appetite for a long rebuild. Connecticut Sun team president Jen Rizotti said in a statement, “You have made a home for this franchise for generations, and we are grateful for the passion and support that made us a cornerstone team in the WNBA. While the league continues to grow and evolve, our commitment is to honor this legacy — and finishing this final season together with pride.”

Would finishing last in the standings with a bunch of young players who will play in Houston in 2027 honor that legacy and finish the final season with pride? I suppose it depends on your definition. Perhaps more importantly, will any Sun fans want to come see the team lose a bunch of games in its last season?

On the other hand, will Houston fans be excited about a new team featuring a highly-drafted rookie and very little high-end talent? Would the new owners rather have a team fighting for playoff contention, even if it comes at the cost of long-term championship equity? It might be best to field a team that is competitive right away and worry about the future later.

I wonder if the Sun will try to split the difference by continuing their rebuild but adding just enough veteran talent to stay entertaining. They basically did that last season by retaining Marina Mabrey and signing former Sun star Tina Charles. Could they entice former MVP (with the Sun) Jonquel Jones to come back in the Tina Charles role, while finding someone better suited to be the primary initiator on offense than Mabrey was? That alone wouldn’t get Connecticut into the playoffs, but it would make them a lot more watchable than they were in 2025. Jones would give Houston a legit star that the roster currently lacks, though at 32 years old, she might not be there too long.

Unfortunately for us, we’re not going to get too many clues to the offseason from the expansion draft. Connecticut will protect Aaliyah Edwards, Leila Lacan, Aneesah Morrow and Saniya Rivers regardless of their offseason plans. If Marina Mabrey is selected in the expansion draft, it may mean Connecticut is setting its sights on someone even better in free agency, but we won’t really know that until free agency begins.

No matter what the plan is, I am extremely interested to see how Connecticut executes it. They figure to be one of the most interesting franchises in the league over the next few seasons, and that begins right now with this offseason.