The Boston Celtics are for sale: what it means to Celtics fans

As you may have heard, the Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C. announced their intention to sell the Boston Celtics. Based on various reports and statements from the team, it sounds like Wyc Grousbeck and his family are looking to cash in on their investment. Back in 2002 the ownership group purchased the team for $360 million and now it is valued at close to $5 billion and could conceivably be sold for much more than that.

That makes sense. Fabulously rich people like to cash in on their huge investments when they return profits that make them even more fabulously rich. Nobody will begrudge them that, especially when this ownership group delivered 2 championships, spent when it made sense to spend, and generally made good decisions and employed good, smart people.

But what does all of this mean to the fans? I’m going to try to do this FAQ style.

Why are they selling now?

You could make the argument that the team could have been sold at any point in the last 5 years and the return would likely be around the same amount (what’s a billion or so between friends?). You could also make a convincing case that the team’s value could keep going up over the next few years with the influx of money coming from the new TV deals.

I don’t walk in the circles that Wyc and company do, so I can only guess at their motivations. The most obvious one is perhaps the most endearing one. After years of trying to hang Banner 18, the team finally reached their goal. It just feels good to go out on top.

The more cynical reason might have to do with the CBA (with increased taxes and aprons and other scary sounding contractual nerdery). The Celtics won the title, paid all their players (as one should), and they’ll be punished for years for it. Why not let someone else pay those bills? More on this later.

Regardless, they announced that they intend to sell sometime near the end of 2024 or early 2025. Wyc Grousbeck also announced that he’ll remain the NBA Governor for the team until 2028. That sounds great, but it really isn’t entirely up to him. When the new owners are writing the checks, they decide who’s in charge (just ask Mark Cuban). Which brings us to…

Who’s going to buy the team?

One of the biggest advantages a team can have is competent ownership. Or said differently, the…