Celtics

What Brad Stevens said about Celtics’ sale, future of roster

"Every indication is it’s pretty much business as usual, so I’m excited about that."

By Conor Ryan

March 26, 2025

2 minutes to read

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Less than a week after the Grousbeck family agreed to sell the Boston Celtics to a group led by Bill Chisholm at a valuation of $6.1 billion, Celtics’ president of basketball operations Brad Stevens offered up an endorsement of Boston’s new ownership group while speaking to the media in Phoenix. 

While fielding questions after Boston’s shootaround at PHX Arena, Stevens stressed that there haven’t been any seismic changes to the hierarchy of the team’s leadership group — even if more daunting challenges might await this offseason when it comes to the franchise’s hefty luxury-tax bill. 

“My only thing is just asking to be kept in the loop on everything I need to know from the standpoint of making decisions here and now and moving forward,” Stevens told reporters, including MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “As we get to spend more time with Bill, with Wyc and Bill, then we’ll have more clarity on how we are going to do things. 

“But really, every indication is it’s pretty much business as usual, so I’m excited about that. But again, you spend a lot of money on these things, so you have every right to come in and put your stamp on it however you want. So I’m looking forward to working with him.”

While Chisholm has already held conversations with Stevens and the rest of Boston’s top brass, current team governor Wyc Grousbeck will offer some stability in the years ahead — as he will remain in his role as the team’s CEO and Governor through the 2027-28 season. 

But Boston will also have to grapple with some difficult decisions this summer — as Boston’s payroll for the upcoming 2025-26 season could exceed $500 million due to nearly $280 million luxury-tax penalties. 

Even though Boston could keep a majority of its roster intact this offseason, moving a contract like Jrue Holiday’s or Kristaps Porzingis’ might be necessary in order to cut into that luxury-tax bill. 

But with the Celtics focused on trying to secure their 19th championship this spring, Stevens stressed that Boston’s management is currently focused on the present. 

“Everybody’s got to just be themselves, right, and bring their own authenticity to it,” Stevens said. “When you buy a team and when you are invested like that, then he’s gonna bring great ideas. We’ll operate and execute plans that ultimately he wants to. I’ve been really impressed with how committed he seems to be to learning more about how we’ve done things, both the business side and the basketball side.  

“And also the idea that I think he recognizes that we’ve got a good thing going. For me, the most important thing in this whole transition is just the people that I work with feel comfortable. I think that clearly from every indication of every conversation I’ve had with Bill, I do, and I think everybody should.”

Conor Ryan

Sports Writer

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.