NBA Notebook: Report on Celtics sale raises new questions about a championship's cost

More revelations about the ongoing Boston Celtics sale emerged this week from the New York Post's Josh Kosman, who reported that the team's sale occurred due to a rift between 20% owner Irv Grousbeck and his son Wyc Grousbeck due to the team's ballooning costs. Wyc denied that notion, continuing to point to the team's statement that the Grousbeck family collectively decided to move on for family planning purposes. Regardless, the story includes two staggering details --  that the Celtics barely broke even through their championship push and face $80 million in losses next year.

That's the more important revelation as it appears unlikely that a Jeff Bezos-style purchaser emerges and Stephen Pagliuca remains the only person to announce their interest. A combination of new luxury tax penalties and the team's revenue limitations due to not owning their arena could pressure the Celtics' ability to sustain an increasingly massive payroll. Brad Stevens said the sale isn't impacting the front office's management plans in July, and he followed through on that by adding Sam Hauser's extension to the long-term books and positioning the team to face $500 million combined between salaries and tax in the 2025-26 season. If 2025 projects as a loss, it's unclear who would sign up for the team's 2026 cap sheet without more revenue. 

The Boston Globe reported this week that the lagging emergence of suitors is due to the evaluation of the team's assets and liabilities continuing. The NY Post story added that the sale price could fall closer to $5 billion rather than the $6 billion that the Grousbecks and NBA have reportedly hoped to reach. The arena situation looms over everything, as it'll become one of the new group's first major decisions. But for now, the biggest implication in all of this is whether Boston's current ownership group agreed to contracts that the next one won't necessarily want to hold on to. 

Kristaps Porziņģis comes off the books following that first season of projected repeater tax penalties in 2025-26. Jrue Holiday can opt-out in 2027. Extensions carry Payton Pritchard and Derrick White through at least 2028 while Jaylen Brown and Hauser's deals expire after 2029. Jayson Tatum has a player option for 2029-30. Boston will weigh those costs year-by-year while assessing its chances of contending, which remain strong in 2025 despite Porziņģis' injury, and while the path to offloading money around the league ahead of the first year of the new CBA's full effects was to let players leave in free agency, the Celtics could face the need to maneuver their finances as early as next summer. 

Boston's press release on the sale indicated that the majority sale should take place before 2025 before the rest of the team changes hands in 2028, which has been confirmed in multiple reports now. That raises more questions about how the team will be managed over that stretch. Would back-to-back championships secure one more run-it-back year at unprecedented costs in 2026? How would Boston's front office respond to a more immediate cost-cutting initiative from a buyer? The team could finance operating at a loss. It'll also need to generate profits eventually to pay off that debt. 

The other factor that could dictate how aggressively the richest suitors pursue the team is whether the NBA pursues expansion in the near future. The greatest value in Boston's franchise beyond its international allure is the scarcity of teams that become available for sale. The possibility that two new franchises could emerge, long rumored in prime Seattle and Las Vegas markets, could hinder interest in a more expensive Celtics team that'll thrust repeater luxury tax penalties, top-level salaries, limited roster flexibility and potentially the cost of building a new arena on the new group. The league's likely monumental expansion fees and a waiting period before those new teams can get in on revenue sharing try to bridge that gap in cost. 

It's inevitable that assuming an expansion roster will be far cheaper than signing up for one of the most expensive rosters in NBA history. 

Businessman Mat Ishbia didn't care in 2022, acquiring the Suns and Mercury in one deal following the reporting that eventually pushed out Robert Sarver. Ishbia moved to acquire Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, accepted repeater tax penalties and begins 2024-25 running back a team that suffered a 4-0 first round loss last year. He bought into a premium basketball market with a historic franchise, the hype of having multiple superstars and the rising popularity of the WNBA. The possibility of expansion to Boston in the women's league is another consideration following the Connecticut Sun's popular appearance at TD Garden last month, but for now, that's another asset the Celtics don't have to offer in their sale. 

What they do offer is a popular TV product locally. That was a reason that made Fenway Sports Group's reported interest in Boston's basketball team believable when the NY Post reported it, given that they could add the Celtics to their Red Sox and Bruins offerings on NESN. FSG has long been connected to the expansion route, though, with Las Vegas their likely target. Henry recently said FSG has no plans to add to its large portfolio. 

Stevens and Jayson Tatum sounded caught off guard by the Celtics sale in their response to the news, the former saying he didn't learn about it too long before the public did. That, combined with finances reportedly stressing the current ownership group that vowed to do whatever it takes to win, revive the question over whether the Celtics can compete long-term in an era where the cost of contending is exorbitant. The Lakers and their old school ownership have learned that and even the new-school Clippers led by Steve Ballmer decided to let Paul George walk. 

Winning one title was a big deal for Boston. The new rules have made it far more difficult to stack multiple over a short span. The Celtics have a rare, and perhaps the last great chance to do so by running it back in 2025. Nothing after that is promised. 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Boston: Named Celtics assistant Tyler Lashbrook as Maine's head coach after Blaine Mueller left to join Charles Lee's Charlotte staff earlier this year. Lashbrook joined Boston alongside Sam Cassell after previously serving as an assistant in Philadelphia, where they coached Jaden Springer. Lashbrook resumed his work with Springer when the Celtics traded for him in February while also coaching Oshae Brissett. Joe Mazzulla praised his late game and offensive contributions. Lashbrook will work with JD Davison, Anton Watson and Drew Peterson, and whichever other young players spend time in Maine. The Celtics signed Jordan Schakel, who played in Maine last year, to its final offseason roster spot. God Shammgod Jr., Da’Sean Butler and Nana Foulland will join Boston as player enhancement coaches following Lee, Lashbrook and Jermaine Bucknor's departures to Charlotte. 

Brooklyn: Jimmy Butler to the Nets? Multiple articles have discussed the possibility, including one noting the Butler and Ben Simmons connection, but given the ground floor stage of Brooklyn's rebuild and Butler needing some leverage over Miami ahead of free agency, it's hard to believe it right now. Still, Brooklyn now has ample assets and had assessed whether star-hunting was desirable before trading Mikal Bridges. They'll be in play for the No. 1 pick. 

Charlotte: Charles Lee will host his first Hornets training camp at Duke University from Oct. 1-4. 

Dallas: Jayson Tatum predicted the Celtics and Mavericks will meet again in the 2025 Finals. Veteran Markieff Morris re-signed with the Mavs after playing 34 games over the last two seasons. 

Golden State: Would reportedly have interest in Jimmy Butler ahead of free agency next summer, which would require an in-season trade or offseason sign-and-trade given the Warriors' finances. The team has continued to assess its cap allotments more carefully, extension talks with Jonathan Kuminga reportedly stalled as Golden State won't offer the five-year max that Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner and others in his class received.

"That doesn't mean there isn't a reasonable middle ground—perhaps in the $30-ish million per season range as the deadline nears," Anthony Slater wrote. "Nobody can say for sure what will happen if Kuminga is presented a concrete, life-changing financial offer and the Warriors come to believe the deal will age well enough as the salary cap projects to skyrocket. There have been tentative extension discussions between the sides, league sources said, but a clear divide remains."

Mitchell Wiggins, a former NBA player and Andrew Wiggins' father, died at 64 this week. Andrew missed time over the past two seasons for personal reasons as Mitchell dealt with a reported serious medical situation. 

Houston: AJ Griffin, 21, is reportedly considering stepping away from basketball after his second NBA season and a trade that sent him from the Hawks team that drafted him to the Rockets. He spent time away from Atlanta last year and received less playing time compared to his rookie season. Houston acquired him as part of a draft night trade with the Hawks and Heat. Recently, in 2022, Tyrell Terry retired following his second season and signed with a French team this August. Terry had cited mental health reasons after multiple leaves. The Hawks selected AJ with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and his father Adrian Griffin briefly coached the Bucks last season. 

Lakers: Signed Christian Koloko, the No. 33 pick in the 2022 draft, as he awaits clearances to return from a blood clot issue that forced him out of the league in January. He played limited minutes in 58 games as a rookie, scoring 3.1 PPG on 48% shooting. Koloko, 7-1 and a native of Cameroon, turned 24 in June. Koloko was eligible to join a team while the league's fitness to play panel decides his future. Christian Wood underwent left knee surgery this week and will miss eight weeks, thinning LA's front court early this season along with Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) needing more time to recover into camp. 

Miami: Terry Rozier (neck) and Nikola Jovic (ankle) haven't fully recovered from their injuries ahead of training camp, but are expected to be ready in time. The neck ailment that reports stressed wasn't career-threatening cost Rozier the entirety of the Heat's first round series against the Celtics after Miami traded for him before the deadline. Jovic suffered a small fracture that threatened his Olympic participation with Serbia. He ultimately played limited minutes in the tournament and said he's basically 100%, and is just awaiting some final ligament healing. Jaime Jaquez altered his diet this summer.

“Where I’m at right now is just about fully, fully, fully cleared to play 5-on-5,” Rozier said. “But I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit of 3-on-3. So I figure in the next couple weeks, I’ll be graduating to 5-on-5. I feel great.”

Milwaukee: Former Bucks player Junior Bridgeman bought a 10% stake in the Bucks that values the team at $4 billion, an important comparison point as the Celtics and NBA reportedly seek $6 billion in their sale. The NY Post reported that due to the Celtics not owning TD Garden, that figure could fall closer to $5 billion. Wes Edens, Jamie Dinan and the Cleveland Browns' Haslem family own 25% each of the Bucks. They bought the team from long-time owner and US Senator Herb Kohl in 2014 for $550 million in a move that saved the team from moving away from Milwaukee after years of struggles.

Minnesota: Wolves owner Glen Taylor subpoenaed the NBA in his continued effort to stop the previously approved sale of his team to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez' group, which Taylor blamed on them missing payment deadlines. The originally agreed to sell the team for $1.5 billion in 2021. Since, Michael Bloomberg joined the group to secure more funding while Taylor said the team is no longer for sale. The NBA has tried to stay away from the dispute, Adam Silver noting that an arbitrator would resolve it, but a subpoena that could publicize league communication, revenue and contracts ahead of potential expansion and other franchise sales could force a settlement of the dispute that's more favorable to Taylor. The Wolves are now valued at $2.5 billion after drafting Anthony Edwards and making a west finals run. 

New York: Signed Landy Shamet to a minimum contract to reach 15 standard roster players. The 27-year-old guard shot 33.8% with the Wizards after building a career 38.4% mark through his first five NBA seasons between four teams. Tyler Murray, a Medfield native who called some Red Sox games on WEEI this year, will become the new radio voice of the Knicks this season. 

Philadelphia: While hundreds attended a town meeting about the 76ers' future in Philadelphia, New Jersey unveiled a rendering of what a proposed arena in Camden would look like. Some residents continued to oppose the team's plan to move into a $1.5 billion downtown complex near Chinatown due to gentrification concerns, while proponents of the plan included city labor unions who pitched the creation of jobs in the area. The Sixers have stressed the need to finalize a plan soon to remain on track to move out of Wells Fargo Arena in South Philadelphia when their lease ends following 2030-31. 

Portland: Robert Williams III could emerge again as a trade target for teams that need center help around the NBA, Brian Windhorst connecting him to the Knicks in their ongoing search for center depth behind Mitchell Robinson while the Pelicans in Williams' native Louisiana only enter the season with Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi available at the five. Williams has taken the court again as he works back from knee surgery following his first year away from Boston where he only appeared in six games last year. Rookie Donovan Clingan's arrival alongside Deandre Ayton could make it easier for Portland to move on from Williams III, who's signed for two-years, $27.5 million. Deni Avdija discussed his trade from the Wizards to the Blazers. 

"I found out about the trade while I was sleeping," he said. "My agent called my dad, my dad woke me up. He was like, ‘Yo, you might want to see your phone.’ And then I saw all the trade stuff.”

Sacramento: DeMar DeRozan, doing a media tour for his new book "Above the Noise," discussed his past, future, mental health and more as he prepares to join the Kings following an offseason sign-and-trade from Chicago. He said he had options to join the Clippers, Lakers, Heat and 76ers, but was intrigued by the chance to win with Sacramento following their last two turnaround seasons. The proximity to home in LA, where the Clippers and Lakers would've had challenges acquiring him, also proved enticing. Looking back at his time in Toronto, DeRozan believed the Raptors could've won the 2019 championship with him if they didn't trade him for Kawhi Leonard the summer prior. 

"Never to discredit those guys. They won it. They deserve it. I finally had got to a point where I was happy for them," he said. "But for sure. I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn't beat was LeBron James. That's just what it was. I felt off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push us over the top. That piece came to be LeBron going to the West and I didn't get an opportunity to see what would have happened. But the upmost confident in myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened."