Complex sentence: Owner Peter Pocklington had explored moving the Oilers to Minnesota during the 1990s, and in 1998 Pocklington almost made a deal to sell the team to Leslie Alexander, the owner of the Houston Rockets of the NBA who would have moved the team to Houston, Texas.
Split into simpler sentences: Owner Peter Pocklington had explored moving the Oilers to Minnesota during the 1990s. In 1998, Pocklington almost made a deal to sell the team to Leslie Alexander, the owner of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) who would have moved the team to Houston, Texas.