Wyc Grousbeck Did Celtics Ultimate Favor Before Shocking Departure
Less than two weeks after Wyc Grousbeck stepped off a duck boat after a two-mile celebratory ride around Boston, the out-of-the-blue announcement that the Celtics would sell their majority ownership stake was made public.
Grousbeck has been the lead owner, governor and CEO of the marquee franchise for the past 22 years, delivering two championships and four NBA Finals appearances. Under Grousbeck’s reign as ownership’s head honcho, the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen “Big Three” came to life, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown became homegrown studs and Brad Stevens went from ex-college head coach to a front-office genius. Not too shabby for a Massachusetts native who partook in the 2002 purchase of the Celtics for $360 million — alongside Steve Pagliuca.
Having hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy twice in Boston, Grousbeck has earned a standing ovation from the Celtics. He did everything in his power to commit to keeping the team competitive for over two decades, was transparent, open and honest through it all and did the team an all-time solid before cleaning out his office: keeping everything Stevens did intact to open a multi-year window for more titles.
“It’s kind of weird, actually, having stability,” Jaylen Brown said on media day. “Cause over the last couple of years we’ve had the head coaches change, coaches leaving in the middle of the season, trades, players in and out. Nobody mentions that when you lose so it’s good to hear it as an excuse now when you win; that we have some stability, but it definitely feels a little bit different. But I think it’ll be good for us to continue to build off the chemistry that we already have and take some leaps forward.”
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Stevens pulled off a three-team blockbuster to acquire Kristaps Porzingis last offseason and as soon as the 7-footer arrived in Boston, the Celtics immediately signed him to a two-year, $60 million contract extension. Jrue Holiday, before the playoffs, signed a four-year, $135 million deal to stay in Boston — and that was just the start. Jayson Tatum, with a record-large $315 million supermax contract, Derrick White ($125 million), Sam Hauser ($45 million), Xavier Tillman Sr., Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet were all retained on extensions. But even that wasn’t the end either.
The Celtics were engaged on draft night in June, selecting Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) and Anton Watson (Gonzaga) before extending an invite to six-year veteran Lonnie Walker IV, who stood out during the preseason.
Grousbeck ensured that regardless of who would be the majority owner moving forward, the looming sale uncertainty wouldn’t interfere with the Celtics in the present. Boston isn’t moving its goalpost. Sure, Banner 18 is seized, the parade is over with and the confetti has been swept off the parquet, but Stevens didn’t build the elite cast around Tatum and Brown for a one-and-done run at the NBA’s mountaintop.
“We’ve had really good leadership around here, and they’ve basically said, ‘Hey, obviously, we’ve put a team together. This has been a long-term plan, to be where we are right now,'” Stevens said on media day. “Plans don’t always go the way you want them to. This one, so far, has been pretty smooth but there will always be challenges that come along with that. The way that they’ve phrased it to me from the standpoint of since the sale was announced was we just need to keep doing what we’re doing, and business as usual and do what you can to build the best team that we can and we’ll see what happens from there.”
Boston’s past, present and future give Grousbeck more than enough reasons to tip his cap to the Celtics with pride as he moves on and bids the franchise farewell.
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