Wyc Grousbeck’s Surprise Exit as Celtics Governor Sparks Questions About Future of the Franchise

Nope. Grousbeck will step aside and Chisholm will take over as the team’s governor when the sale is completed soon, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

This isn’t a shock, and it echoes what happened with Mark Cuban’s sale of the majority of the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and her family. Cuban thought and announced that he was going to stay on and oversee basketball operations, but that turned out not to be the case (the Luka Doncic trade would never have happened on his watch). With Jayson Tatum out for most, if not all, of next season, Chisholm’s Celtics have been aggressive in reducing their payroll and associated luxury tax, trading away Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, among others. All their moves have knocked the Celtics’ tax bill down by about 0 million for next season, although the team still has the fifth highest payroll in the league and remains million into the luxury tax (don’t be shocked if Boston makes another move or two in an effort to get below that number and reset the repeater tax). All that cost-cutting is going to hit the Celtics on the court, where they still have an impressive top of the roster led by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, but things get thin pretty quickly with this group. So, here’s the skinny: when Bill Chisholm’s eye-popping .1 billion bid for the Boston Celtics dropped, the chatter was that Wyc Grousbeck would keep his spot as team governor through 2028. Well, scratch that. Turns out, Grousbeck’s stepping back sooner than expected, and Chisholm is set to take the reins as governor once the sale wraps up — a switch-up that’s less surprise, more strategic play. Grousbeck’s not disappearing; he’ll still pull strings as CEO and serve as alternate governor, navigating league rules that cap ownership percentages for governors. This shuffle mirrors past big-league handoffs — think Mark Cuban’s pivot with the Mavericks — where intentions meet reality in the ownership game. Meanwhile, with Jayson Tatum sidelined for much of the upcoming season, Chisholm’s Celtics are slashing payroll and trimming luxury tax costs, a move that’s as much about patience as it is prudence. The big question hanging in the air? After this ‘gap year’ of belt-tightening, what kind of wallet will Chisholm open up to reshape this squad into a serious title contender? Celtics fans, buckle up — the next chapter is about to get interesting. LEARN MORE.When the then-record .1 billion sale of the Boston Celtics to Bay Area tech investor Bill Chisholm was announced, part of the deal was that current team governor Wyc Grousbeck would stay in that role until 2028.Choosing to make this a gap year and reduce an enormous tax bill is defensible, even smart, in a season where the Celtics are not expected to compete for a title due to Tatum’s injury. The real test of Chisholm as an owner comes in a year: What is he willing to spend to rebuild a contending roster? With Tatum and Brown at the top, as well as others such as White, the Celtics have the foundation of a team that could hang banner No. 19, but will the new ownership spend what it takes to fill out the roster with quality and win?
Grousbeck will be the alternate governor and will continue in his role as CEO through 2028, reports Mike Vorkunov at The Athletic. He had to step down under league rules because after the sale he is going to own a little less than the 15% required to be a team governor, but Grousbeck and Chisholm will run the team together as had been planned, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.