Organizational Stability…For Now.
Shockwaves were sent throughout New England on Monday when the news came out that Wyc Grousbeck was selling his share of the Celtics. Shortly after the Derrick White extension reports came to light, C’s fans found out the best owner in the city is working on an escape plan.
From 30,000 feet, it all makes sense from a business and operational point of view. An NBA team is getting more expensive to own, especially a team that is headed towards an outrageously high payroll to keep it together over the next couple of years. Local TV money isn’t what it used to be. The Celtics don’t own the TD Garden. The league is now competitively punishing teams that want to outspend others. And, Grousbeck doesn’t have the deep pockets that other owners in the league happen to have to withstand the body blows.
But, as everyone was talking about the sale, our attention quickly pivoted towards Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla.
Stevens took over the Celtics basketball operations a little over three years ago. Part of the reason he took the gig was he got the blessing from ownership and undoubtedly trusts Grousbeck to run the team a certain way. Now one has to wonder if Grousbeck’s eventual exit will lead to Stevens rethinking his future. Will Stevens look to get out, before the seismic change is expected to happen in 2028?
Before the big news on Monday, Stevens certainly didn’t sound like a guy who is looking to go anywhere throughout his post-title media tour. He sounded as happy as could be, leading this franchise’s front office. Here’s a quote during his post-draft press conference last week:
“One of my main objectives is to not have this be — and it goes back 10 years — not have this be anything but sustainable. Keep finding a way to be sustainable. Keep finding a way to sustainably put yourself in the mix for years and years and years. Doesn’t mean we’re not going to have a down year or a rough year, or maybe we don’t make the playoffs one year. But it’s just not big dips. That’s what we would like.”
That reads like someone who plans on being here for the long haul. But, didn’t Grousbeck tell Paul Pierce recently that the team wasn’t for sale? Life comes at you fast. And, sports figures hardly ever publicly fess up to their true intentions.
Maybe Stevens will leave hand-in-hand with Grousbeck in 2028. Maybe he’ll leave before 2028. Or, maybe not. Maybe Stevens is not as wrapped up in the ownership's business as much as we are. Maybe he’s solely focused on turning this championship into multiple championships. Maybe he just wants to embrace the challenge of sustaining dominance and cementing his legacy with this storied franchise, before moving on to his next basketball test.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Stevens mentioned how he is a native midwesterner who’s fallen in love with the Northeast. He looks and sounds like someone who genuinely loves what he’s doing and where he’s doing it. So, just maybe, he’s here to stay.
Meanwhile, the NBA Champions are led on the bench by a guy who just turned 36 years old. Mazzulla shut up a lot of doubters with his performance in the postseason. He seems to be the right guy at the right time for this team. He absolutely had the pulse of his locker room, while leaning into math and relying on his team’s defensive ability and aptitude. You could easily envision Mazzulla becoming Boston’s Erik Spoelstra.
Oh, and Mazzulla just happens to be a local guy from Johnston, Rhode Island, enjoying his dream job. Doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere any time soon, as long as the team keeps contending…
Which leads us back to Grousbeck’s sale. Will that change the long-term trajectory of this franchise? Will the eventual new blood look to cut major costs? Will that cause Stevens to walk? Will Mazzulla be tasked to handle a much different team than he’s handling right now, leading him to look elsewhere?
All of those questions will be answered in due time. But fans, you should get back to celebrating a title and take comfort in the thought of Stevens and Mazzulla being in charge…For now.
Winning Team Led By A Dead Man Walking
The Red Sox are 44-39. They’re 1.5 games back of the Royals for the third AL Wild Card. That might not sound like a mighty accomplishment just past the midway point of the season, but with the proper context, it’s quite mighty.
If you had told us that the Sox would have as many key injuries as they’ve had, but be five games over .500 at the start of July, we’d look at you like you needed a long vacation. Well, that’s where they are. Up and down at the plate heading into June, their rotation has been atrocious for the last few weeks, but yet, they’ve still found a way to keep their heads above water.
One of the biggest reasons why is the man leading the clubhouse. Alex Cora has had to mix and match throughout the season. He’s had to be patient with young players. He’s had to get more out of vets than you’d expect. He’s had to shuffle the rotation, while managing a bullpen that has had several guys in and out. It’s hard to argue that Cora’s not done a fantastic job.
Too bad it doesn’t seem like the team is appreciative.
Maybe too much has happened in the past between Cora and ownership for him to be rewarded in the present with a top-of-the-market contract. Maybe ownership is, again, being too cheap when it could keep a top talent in its clubhouse. Maybe Cora isn’t Craig Breslow’s “guy.” Shoot, maybe Cora doesn’t want to discuss a contract because he’s had enough and is looking forward to being recruited and paid the bag by another organization.
No matter, it’s once again disappointing that we are here. The Sox might become contenders within the next couple of years with young talent like Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer getting closer every day to becoming big leaguers. But, that won’t mean the last handful of years haven’t happened. Those years were mostly wasted due to John Henry & Company deciding the almighty dollar was more important than trying to win baseball games.
Ownership will try to reframe the last half-decade as gearing up for sustainable contention. They’ll give you all the data points. They’ll flaunt the young talent. They’ll do all of this without stating the obvious - They could have competed now AND built for the future. It’s possible to do both when you’re, let’s see, willing to spend in free agency!
But, it all doesn’t seem to matter in 2024. This overachieving fun team to watch will likely not be given a chance to go on a deep run. And, the lasting memory will be watching Cora walk out that door one last time.
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Note: I’ll be taking the next few weeks off due to some scheduling issues and a need to reset. The plan is to be back the first week of August with more content. Enjoy the rest of your July!!
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