Bill Chisholm just bought the Boston Celtics for a record-breaking $6.1 million, the most ever paid for a North American sports franchise. A Massachusetts native, Chisholm has made some quick rounds in the media, expressing his desire to help keep Boston at the top of the basketball world.
He also revealed that current owner Wyc Grousbeck will remain on board as the team’s CEO, helping him run things in the immediate future. However, while there may be a new owner and new money in charge, that doesn’t mean the Celtics are safe from the inevitability that had been previously speculated about.
In fact, Grousbeck just effectively admitted that a trade is inevitable.
Wyc Grousbeck basically just admitted that huge Celtics trade will happen this offseason
During an appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show, Grousbeck explained how absurd it would be to remain in the second apron for more than two years in a row.
"You can't stay in the second apron," Grousbeck said. "Nobody will. I predict for the next 40 years of the CBA no one's gonna stay in the second apron more than two years."
He expanded upon this statement, noting that the problem isn’t ownership’s pockets, it’s the restrictions of the CBA.
"It's not the luxury-tax bill," Grousbeck, who will remain the Celtics' CEO and governor until the end of the 2027-28 season, said. "It's the basketball penalties, OK? The new CBA was designed by the league to stop teams from going crazy. And they decided that it's not just good enough to go after the wallets because then the fans are like, 'Hey, find someone who can afford to spend whatever, $500 million a year or whatever it is, like the English Premier League.'
“I know seven guys that own Premier League teams in England with no spending caps and most of them are wondering what the hell's going on. Anyway, over here, it's basketball penalties now.”
Boston has been a second-apron team for two years straight—the 2023-24 season and the 2024-25 season. Should they choose to keep all their guys heading into next season, it would be the third straight season of being a second-apron team.
Grousbeck, the current owner and guy who is planning to help run the team for the next few years under new ownership, just said that it’s impossible to stay in the second apron for that long.
And in order for the Celtics to dip under the second apron, they would have to trade one of five players—Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, or Kristaps Porzingis.
By predicting that nobody will remain a second-apron team for more than two years in a row for the next 40 years of the CBA, Grousbeck just effectively admitted that the Celtics will have to make a huge trade this summer.
The only question is, who’s going to be moved?
