And-Ones: Fertitta, WNBA, Cotton, Refs, Diakite

The WNBA’s and NBA’s Board of Governors have approved the sale of the Connecticut Sun to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, according to Doug Feinberg of The Associated Press.

While the Sun will finish the current season in Connecticut, the plan for 2027 is for the franchise to relocate to Houston, where the team is expected to be rebranded as the Comets. The original iteration of the Houston Comets competed in the WNBA from 1997-2008 before folding.

According to Alexa Philippou of ESPN (Twitter link), the Comets won’t have a standalone practice facility in Houston. The plan is for the team to practice at Toyota Center, which is in the process of undergoing a $180MM renovation project in order to update its infrastructure. The Comets will share the building with the Rockets.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• American-born guard Bryce Cotton, a six-time MVP in Australia’s National Basketball League, will suit up for the Australian national team during July’s World Cup qualifiers after becoming a citizen last September, reports ESPN’s Olgun Uluc. In a separate story for ESPN, Uluc examines how Cotton’s eligibility will impact the Boomers going forward, noting that the team can’t have more than one naturalized player on its roster in the World Cup or Olympics. That means either Cotton or Matisse Thybulle would be an odd man out.
• The National Basketball Players Association announced the findings of its annual referee player survey on Wednesday, dividing the league’s officials into three tiers based on player feedback. The 26 referees in the first tier are considered “elite and top performers,” while the 27 in the second tier are viewed as “solid performers.” The 20 in the third tier fall under the heading “needs improvement.”
• On the heels of a strong EuroLeague season with Baskonia in Spain, former NBA big man Mamadi Diakite is believed be nearing a deal with Dubai Basketball, according to a report from BasketNews.com. Diakite, 29, appeared in a total of 55 NBA regular season games for Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Cleveland, San Antonio, and New York from 2021-24.
• The NBA announced tentative schedules for the conference finals on Wednesday, as Adam Zagoria of NJ.com relays (via Twitter). The Eastern Conference finals will begin on either Sunday or Tuesday, depending on whether the Cavaliers and Pistons require a Game 7, while the Western finals will tip off on either Monday or Wednesday, pending the results of Friday’s Game 6 between the Spurs and Timberwolves. The Knicks and Thunder await the winners of those conference semifinals.