Another day, another strange headline as it relates to the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics.
On Friday, Josh Kosman of the New York Post published an exclusive detailing a rift between Wyc and Irving Grousbeck, one that inevitably led to Irv, Wyc’s father and true majority owner of the franchise, demanding that his son put the iconic franchise up for sale only weeks after delivering Boston their 18th championship in franchise history.
According to the Post, after consecutive summers of signing massive contracts to lock up the core of Boston’s championship roster, Irv - who owns around 20% of the team - “balked at funding big losses on the horizon.”
The Post reports that the team “barely broke even” during the 2023-24 championship run, and is expected to lose roughly $80 million because of luxury tax fines for being over the salary cap for their title-defense season in 2024-25. That $80 million is expected to go even higher moving forward, as the league’s new second and third apron penalties kick in.
So with luxury taxes mounting, on top of the 2023-24 season costing the organization upwards of $500 million, it was all just a bridge too far for the elder Grousbeck.
A source told the Post, “Wyc says we’ll spend whatever it takes, but dad wasn’t into losing money.”
When Wyc made the surprise sale announcement earlier this summer, he said the impetus behind the sale was family estate planning considerations. And ahead of the Post’s report from Friday, when reached for comment on the reported rift, Wyc echoed his sentiment from July.
“The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations. To say the sale is in any way related to losses is completely incorrect,” he told the Post. “There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team and we don’t anticipate there being one.”
The Post went on to say that Wyc’s 90-year-old father Irving “did not return calls or emails seeking comment.”
This report is just the latest in a summer chock full of storylines you would not typically see from a team that was just the wire-to-wire best team in the NBA en route to a 16-3 postseason run.
A sampling:
- Only days after winning the NBA Finals, center Kristaps Porzingis underwent surgery to repair a rare leg injury he suffered during the postseason. His recovery time is five to six months, meaning he will miss the start of the title-defense season
- Three-time All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum received little-to-no playing time as a member of Team USA in Paris, with his teammates Jrue Holiday and Derrick White having a much more tangible impact on the international tournament
- More Olympics related drama - with Finals MVP Jaylen Brown being left off Team USA’s roster for the Paris games, the 27-year-old released a diss track entitled "Just Do It" aimed at both USA Basketball and Nike with rapper FERG. Yes, you read that blurb correctly
- As it relates to the sale, reports and rumors have been running wild surrounding which billionaires are in the mix for placing a bid. John Henry and his Fenway Sports Group was reportedly in, then out. Jeff Bezos, the second wealthiest man in the world, was reportedly in, then out. Then WEEI’s Courtney Cox reported on The Greg Hill Show that both Henry and Bezos were finalists for the team, along with casino group Wynn Encore. The rumor mill remains hot, people!
Regardless of all the noise surrounding this team, both FanDuel (+300) and BetMGM (+310) have the Celtics as the odds-on favorites to repeat as NBA champions in the 2024-25 season.
Celtics Media Day is set for September 24.