With The Sale Of The Boston Celtics Finally Complete, The Pressure Is Now On New Owner Bill Chisholm To Deliver Banner 19 And Beyond

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

Last week, we learned that the Board of Governors had "approved" the $6.1B sale of the Boston Celtics to Bill Chisholm and his investment group, and now that all the T's are crossed and I's are dotted, we officially enter a new era of the most successful franchise in NBA history. Buying the Celtics is unlike any other franchise in the league, whether it's from a cost perspective, a historical perspective, a fanbase perspective, and most importantly, an expectation perspective. Add to it that Bill Chisholm and his group are following an ownership group led by Wyc Grousbeck that is easily one of the best in franchise history, and there's a lot of pressure that now ultimately falls on his shoulders. 

And while Shams definitely went for the shock factor when he dropped that nugget that Wyc was "out" as Govenor and all that nonsense so he could be "first" to report it, if there's one thing you should always know is that when it comes to Celtics news, especially around their ownership transition, just wait for Himmelsbach

When it came to Wyc's actual role and his involvement, we got some additional clarity around that whole plan

“The day-to-day operational approach here is the same as it ever was,” Chisholm said. “Wyc and I are arm in arm here leading the charge with the Celtics. Frankly, the change that needed to be made was more of a league issue.”

“Wyc’s ownership dipped below 15 percent, but it dipped below 15 percent for good reason. We had a lot of demand for investors to put money in, so we raised a little more money. I think that was in the best interest of everyone and the Celtics, because we want to make sure we have all the firepower necessary to chase championships, and Wyc has been that kind of team player all along.”

Added Grousbeck: “When it became clear the governor title was not going to be available because of technical reasons, because of math, Bill said, ‘Well, then we’re just not going to use that word around the office.’ So that says a lot about Bill, that he doesn’t care. He just wants to do the right thing for the team, and I feel the exact same way. We’re shoulder to shoulder.”

OK, so it was a league rule thing. Shoutout Shams for not including that in his initial reporting! Now, whether or not you want to believe this is up to you. It's really one of those things where as fans all we can do it take the pandering at face value and wait to see what happens once we get to a point where decisions need to be made. If Wyc wants to do something but Chisholm doesn't, I don't think it's a stretch to assume who wins that debate. Same thing if it's the other way around and Chisholm wants to do something and Wyc doesn't, well….

What makes the Celtics situation unique is that this isn't exactly your typical franchise sale. Normally, a new owner comes in and feels compelled to make drastic changes. They want to be the big dick in the room and flex that new owner power. Look at what happened to the Suns after the Ishbia sale. He immediately took swings and lost sight of what all of his new owner decisions would mean for the team long term or even their ability to build, and it became a disaster. Within two years, they've already had to sell off everything and are now back to rebuilding.

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In the Celtics, Chisholm bought a title contender. A team that not only just won the title, but a franchise that already has a winning foundation in place. Wyc can be in the room all he wants, but it has become very clear who gets the final say on basketball decisions, spending, all of that stuff. That man is Bill Chisholm. This is important of course because of where the Celts currently sit as they enter this 2025-26 season.

With Tatum out for the year (I'm still firmly in this camp), the team is in transition. The necessary moves to get under the 2nd apron were made. As a result, it lowered the Celts tax bill (the check Chisholm might have to write) by hundreds of millions of dollars. That's great and all, and I don't even mind if Brad continues to trim salary in an effort to get under the luxury tax altogether this season, given it's a reset year, but that's the thing. 

This is a one time deal. You get 1 year of not spending and resetting your books. After that, we'll learn just how serious this new ownership group is about getting back to the top of the mountain

“The people that need to understand and do understand the second apron are the general managers, because you completely tie yourself in knots if you try to stay over the second apron for more than two years,” Grousbeck said. “We took our two years and put the pedal absolutely to the medal, and we won in 2024, and had another chance last year, as planned. The plan actually worked. Now you take a breath and reset … This is what every team in the league is going to be doing or is doing already.”

Chisholm said the long-term vision has not been interrupted by this temporary reset.

“We’re not playing for second; we’re playing for championships and banners,” he said. “We’re playing for them in the near term, although we obviously had to do some things to get below the second apron. But we’re also playing for them in the medium and long term.

Again, it's up to you as to how much of all this you want to truly believe, because these are all pretty boilerplate/standard PR answers and quotes. If we're being honest, since this sale was first announced last July, that's really all we've heard. The pandering has been elite in an effort to win over the fanbase, and so far that's fine…..for now. 

But now that the 2nd apron penalties are lifted and Brad Stevens is armed with a wide variety of ways to improve his roster and build the next version of a contender once Jayson Tatum returns, it's imperative that Chisholm live up to his words and basically give Brad a blank check. That means being OK with paying repeater luxury tax penalties. That means being OK with potentially dipping back over the 2nd apron if it's what Brad Stevens wants to do. That's always been one thing I've respected about Wyc during his tenure. When the team was good enough to contend, he spent. And I mean really spent. Sure, it may have been his Dad's money, but whatever. He cut the checks and trusted his basketball people to do smart basketball things. As a result, things worked out pretty well since Wyc took over in 2002

In those 23+ years, the Celts are 2nd all time in wins (regular season + playoffs). They made the playoffs 21 times, made the Finals 4 times and won 2 titles. As it stands now, the Celts have the longest active playoff streak (11 years), in large part because ownership has been willing to spend as long as the team was good.

This is the tradition (and the expectation) that Bill Chisholm and his group are now responsible for living up to. While nobody can guarantee banners, all I ask as a fan is that Chisholm stays true to my main rules for whoever the new owner ended up being:

1. You must accept and bow down to our lord and savior Brad Stevens. He calls the shots, you do what he wants without questioning it.

2. You must be willing to spend hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on luxury tax and second apron penalties to keep this roster together for as long as this current window is open

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3. You believe in Mazzulla Ball and everything it stands for

4. You are not John Henry and Fenway Sports Group

The good news is we can already check off #3 and #4 from this list. John Henry and FSG are nowhere to be found, and Joe Mazzulla just got a new contract extension that my guess was signed in blood and is actually a job for life. Those were the no brainer rules. What will truly matter is #1 and #2. We've already seen some adjustments to #2 given Tatum's injury, so change that to the championship core that made it through this Red Wedding-esq offseason. 

I'm willing to be open minded about this transition and reserve judgment until the big decisions come in the summer of 2026, because really that's when we'll get our first taste of just how committed this new group is. In the meantime, I'd be interested to see if the Celts don't have to get under the luxury tax this year, if we see them potentially add a piece that could help them beyond this season, but still keeps them under the 2nd apron. The only thing that would cost would be a larger tax bill for this new ownership group to pay, and going that route may calm the nerves of any fan who is still a little suspicious about what life will be like for this franchise moving forward.