Wyc Grousbeck makes blunt admission on Celtics trades after team sale

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Wyc Grousbeck makes blunt admission on Celtics trades after team sale

Brian Robb · MassLive

Thu, Sep 25, 2025 ·

3 min read

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BOSTON — New Celtics governor Bill Chisholm is entering a challenging situation as his new ownership group takes over the Celtics entering the 2025-26 season. Boston is not only dealing with Jayson Tatum sidelined indefinitely after suffering a torn Achilles in March but the team lost several key contributors ( Al Horford , Kristaps Porzingis , Jrue Holiday ) this summer as part of cost cuts to get the team’s salary under the second apron.

Chisholm addressed those moves in an introductory press conference Thursday afternoon at the Auerbach Center that also included Brad Stevens, Wyc Grousbeck, Rich Gotham and new minority owner Aditya Mittal.

“I’d say some of those, as a fan, I get it,” Chisholm said of the roster overhaul. “Those hurt as a fan, both as good people and obviously great players had to part ways with. And I get it. I get that hurts. I would say, and I don’t mean to be glib, but there are sort of three things I would say: first there’s Derrick White , second is Jrue Holiday, third is Kristaps Porzingis. Because if we were in this situation back then, we couldn’t have gotten those guys on the team. So that’s what we’re playing for. We’re playing for the flexibility to do that kind of thing and when the moment is right to do that, we’re going to do it.”

Grousbeck also came to the defense of Chisholm for the roster overhaul, voicing that the team would not be able to

“This type of move would have happened whether or not the team was sold,” Grousbeck declared of the offseason moves. “I was on the committee that really wrote these new rules and negotiated them with the players, wrote them together with the players — to make it much more tough to just go and buy a championship. We have to have teams competing on a basically even financial keel, no matter who owns them and then have the best front office and the best good luck probably as well, the best players. Competing other than just who has the most money. We wrote that very specifically at the league a few years ago and agreed on it with the players. It was very purposeful and intentional to keep building the parity in the league.”

The Celtics currently sit under the second apron by nearly $8 million after completing the trades of Holiday, Porzingis and another cost-cutting deal in shipping out Georges Niang last month. The team still sits over the luxury tax line by $12 million but there is no urgency for the team to get under that line according to Brad Stevens.

“We’re looking at it from the standpoint of let’s see what this team looks like, let’s put our very best foot forward, let’s let Joe, his staff, the players, let’s all work to maximize ourselves with an attitude of no ceilings and no limitations and go after it,” Stevens said. “And we’ll evaluate the roster like we always will as the year goes on but there’s no tax goal. There’s nothing set in stone that we have to get to a certain level. Obviously where we were earlier this summer is not close to where we are now and llisten we said goodbye to awesome people and really good players. I think we’ve added people that are excited to add their strengths together and see what we can do. So we’re looking forward to it.”

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