It appears the Jeff Bezos buzz around the Boston Celtics was all for naught, as Nick Wingfield of The Information is reporting that the second richest man in the world is not interested in purchasing the most decorated franchise in NBA history.
Wingfield’s report comes behind an expensive paywall, but there’s some legit meat on the bone just from the measly preview content that is accessible before the “subscribe to read the full article” message - which would cost you a cool $299 (!) for an annual subscription.
The preview tells us that a source “close to Bezos” says there is “zero truth” to the idea of Bezos being interested in bidding on the team.
This runs in direct contradiction to the reporting of The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, who said on his podcast on Monday there was “legitimate buzz” around Bezos and the Celtics, and floated the idea of Bezos’ interest in the team being tied to a new arena that could be at the forefront of Amazon’s grab-and-go technology.
Simmons also said that he believes the NBA wants the team to sell for $6 billion dollars, which would be a record for an NBA franchise. He said the league is targeting that price as a way to set the market for two possible expansion teams - one in Seattle and one in Las Vegas. Simmons also said there is some interest in a third expansion team emerging in Mexico City.
In early August, the New York Post reported that John Henry and the Fenway Sports Group were kicking the tires on a potential bid for the cross-town team. That same report also listed the Koch family - famous political donors and owners of the multinational conglomerate Koch Industries - as interested in placing a bid for the Celtics.
In June, the Kochs purchased a 15% stake in the Brooklyn Nets at a valuation of $3.8 billion, but the Post report says the family “wants to own an NBA franchise, and not just be minority partners.” And to add fuel to the Koch fire, the Post says Wyc Grousbeck was seen meeting with David Koch at a party earlier this summer.
Grousbeck, of course, is currently the team’s governor and front-facing member of the Grousbeck family, who announced they were putting their family’s controlling interest in the team up for sale a mere two weeks after winning the 2024 NBA Finals. This was their second championship as owners of the team, their first coming in 2008 after six years of ownership.
The Grousbecks and their investment group Boston Basketball Partners purchased the team in 2002 for $360 million. If they are able to successfully sell the team at the number floated by Simmons, they would nearly 17x the investment by their ownership group.
It should also be noted that shortly after the news came down of the Grousbecks’ desire to sell the team, Celtics minority owner Stephen Pagliuca announced on X.com his intention to be a part of the bidding process. Pagliuca reportedly already owns 20% of the team.
So who will be proven right?
Simmons - the media mogul who consistently shares morsels from rich guy circles on his popular podcast, especially ones relating to the world of sports business, or Wingfield - the senior editor of the decade-old tech website with a resume that includes stops at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got a good ol’ fashion source-off!