With the Celtics’ sale process remaining “in its early stages” a league source said that it is “unlikely that a deal will be completed before the end of 2024,” according to Adam Himmelsbach of the BOSTON GLOBE. Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens reiterated yesterday that he “does not think the sale process will affect the day-to-day operations of the team as it chases another title.” Stevens: “We just need to keep doing what we’re doing, business as usual, and build the best team we can, and we’ll see what happens from there” (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/24).
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne reported on June 30 — when Boston’s “championship honeymoon was officially over” — Stevens received a phone call from owner Wyc Grousbeck. He was calling “to tell Stevens that he would soon announce his intention to sell a controlling interest in the team.” That, in other words, “someone else would eventually be signing the gigantic checks Stevens was about to authorize.” Stevens said, “[Grousbeck] reiterated his support for basketball operations. And he said to just keep on doing what we’re doing.” Shelburne wrote it was “unsettling news.” Stevens added, “We’re just going to do our best to put our best foot forward, and then each year we’ll have to assess how everything looks. Then certainly the new ownership group will dictate a lot of that” (ESPN.com, 9/24).
PLAYERS WEIGH IN: In Boston, Zack Cox noted a handful of Celtics players’ thoughts on the sale. F Jaylen Brown said, “With that ownership group switching, there will be some learning and growing that we need to (do) in order to get accustomed. But hopefully, it’s a smooth transition. That’s what we all hope for, but we’re just going to have to wait and see.” G Jrue Holiday said, “I try to control what I can control, and that’s coming in here every day trying to reach that ultimate goal, which is to win another championship. So, I guess, best of luck to Wyc. I don’t know what to really tell him” (BOSTON HERALD, 9/24).
GAME OF THRONES: In Boston, Christopher Gasper writes the “biggest threat to the Celtics reign” is not coming from opposing teams, but from Celtics Wyc Grousbeck and his father Irving Grousbeck selling the team. After “forking over five billion or so,” a new owner “might not be so keen on following Wyc’s philosophy of being ‘paid in parades’” and paying the “onerous” projected $280M luxury tax bill required to keep the roster intact for 2025-26 to chase another championship — a bill that “only promises to go up.” The first chance to “chase Banner 19 could actually be the Last Dance for this group.” It “depends on who buys the team, how much they pay, their appetite for the NBA’s most expensive luxury tax tariffs, and what matters most — success on the basketball court or a balance sheet.” If the sale were a vote, it “feels like everyone in the Celtics organization would vote for current Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca.” Pagliuca is “most likely to maintain the status quo.” If the ownership “piece of the puzzle doesn’t undercut them,” the Celtics “seem ideally positioned to not be relegated to one-and-done title winners” (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/25).
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