The sale of the Boston Celtics is processing after a record $6.1 Billion price tag was picked up by Massachusetts native, Bill Chisholm.

Chisholm is a founding member, partner, and Chief Investment Officer of STG Partners, a private equity firm in the technology and software fields.

As he learns the ropes of becoming an NBA owner, Chisholm asked Wyc Grousbeck to stay with the team as the CEO through the 2027-28 season, which Grousbeck accepted with open arms:

“Bill is a terrific person and a true Celtics fan, born and raised here in the Boston area. His love for the team and the city of Boston, along with his chemistry with the rest of the Celtics leadership, make him a natural choice to be the next Governor and controlling owner of the team. I know he appreciates the importance of the Celtics and burns with a passion to win on the court while being totally committed to the community. Quite simply, he wants to be a great owner. He has asked me to run the team as CEO and Governor for the first three years, and stay on as his partner, and I am glad to do so.”

It was most surprising to see that Grousbeck’s longtime parter, Stephen Pagliuca, would not be selected as the new owner of the franchise after being next to Wyc since Day 1. He was one of the four finalists to buy the franchise. Here is the statement he made after the sale was announced:

“Since the Grousbeck family announced it would sell the Boston Celtics almost nine months ago. I have worked tirelessly to put together a strong bid centered around the great majority of existing owners of the team who understand and appreciate what it means to be a steward of the Boston Celtics, a team steeped in championship tradition.”

“Additionally, I recruited new partners with deep resources and expertise in technology and international markets to maximize the Celtics’ successes to ensure we can always compete for championships, luxury taxes be damned.”

“We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price, befitting the best sports fans int he world and with all the capital coming from individuals who ae committed to winning on and off the court. We had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future. We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics. It is a bid of true fans, deeply connected to Boston’s community, and we’ve been saddened to find out we have not been selected in the process.”

Theres some verbiage in Pagliuca’s statement that alludes to his money not being an issue at all with zero debt or private equity money that could potentially prevent or limit their ability to compete in the future.

This is a direct shot at Chisholm’s portfolio and Grousbeck’s decision to select him as the next owner of the team.

There’s speculation that Pagliuca was essentially “iced-out” by Grousbeck because there’s a chance that he wouldn’t have any power or be involved with the team still if Pagliuca was the lead owner.

With Chisholm as the owner, Grousbeck gets to be the CEO through the 2027-28 season, a role he likely wouldn’t have had with Pagliuca as the owner, but why not choose a longtime partner to buy the team and move forward?

In 2003, Pagliuca helped the Grousbeck family purchase the Celtics. In 2020, Pagliuca bought James Pallotta’s share of the team, which was eight percent, for $2.8 Billion.

It’s always been unknown how much of a percentage Pagliuca owned, but it’s fair to say that it’s greater than eight percent, which was more than Wyc’s.

After it was announced that the Grousbeck family planned to sell the team, in the summer of 2024 after winning a championship, it came out that Wyc wasn’t necessarily the one in the family with all the money behind the team, despite being the face of the ownership group for over two decades.

In fact, Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe discovered that Wyc himself likely owned less than two percent of the Celtics, saying it was a “relatively small” percentage. When he asked Grousbeck if he could report that, he said this:

“We hold as a family, all unified. … We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.”

When you connect all the dots, it seems like it comes down to pride for Grousbeck. He didn’t want to see Pagliuca, who has always owned a larger percentage than him, go on to become the new owner and face of the ownership group.

During an interview with Chris Forsberg on NBC Sports Boston after it was announced that Chisholm is the new owner, Grousbeck said it was an easy decision based on Chisholm’s love for the team and his presence in the city of Boston, as you can see in the aforementioned quote.

It’s worth mentioning that Pagliuca is heavily involved in the city. In 2005, he was awarded the Bright Star Award from Bill Clinton for his charitable work. In 2010, the Habitat of Humanity gave him the American Dream Award for his contributions in Boston. In 2016, he and his wife donated a research lab at Harvard University called the Pagliuca Life Lab.

For Grousbeck to mention the connections to the city for Chisholm and then to essentially disregard what Pagliuca has accomplished in the city is bordering disingenuous.

I find it to be completely and utterly negligent of Grousbeck to select the new owner of the Celtics based off personal gain rather than what is in the best interest of the franchise.

What would’ve been in the best interest of the team moving forward was continuity with an owner. Thats with Pags and not Chisholm with Grousbeck as CEO.

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Photo Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant, NBAE Getty Images