Shortly after winning the 18th championship in franchise history, the Boston Celtics were put up for sale by the Grousbeck family. A recent report from Josh Kosman of the New York Post cited the franchise’s current payroll and associated expense as a primary reason why the franchise will likely have new ownership in the coming months.
According to Bill Simmons, who was speaking on a recent episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” the sale of the Celtics will move much quicker than many anticipate. The outspoken analyst believes a deal will be finalized in November of this year, and that once the sale is made, there could be some changes to the personnel within the team.
“The Celtics sale is a pretty interesting added piece to this, because that thing’s going to move fast,” Simmons said. “I don’t think people realize how fast that’s going to go. Like, that… it’s going to be November. That team’s going to be sold… That’s what I think. I think it’ll be mid-November. The process is in the middle of it right now. They’re finishing their books, they get the books out to the prospective buyers, kind of have a sense of who the buyers are, what it is, and is this going to be the Pagliuca group that wins it? Is it going to be an outside group? If it’s an outside group, those people are all bringing in their own people.”
The Celtics are currently constructed to be a contending-level team for at least the next 3-5 years. As such, any potential buyer will be inheriting a franchise that could etch itself in history for being a dynasty. Brad Stevens has done exceptional work in the constructing such a talented roster. Nevertheless, the associated cost of keeping that core together could be a stumbling block for any new ownership group.
Wyc Grousbeck is expected to continue leading the team until 2028, which should ensure the current crop of Celtics have enough time to secure at least one more championship run before the team begins to get rebuilt and the luxury tax bill begins to regress.
Still, Celtics fans will eagerly await news of who is purchasing the franchise, and how they intend to move forward.
