Brad Stevens Says 'Business as Usual' for Celtics amid Transition After $6.1B Sale

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters (h/t Jay King of The Athletic) that it's been "business as usual" as the team transitions from one ownership group (Wyc Grousbeck and the Boston Basketball Partners, LLC) to another (a group led by Bill Chisholm) following an agreement on a sale for $6.1 billion.

“I never really gave my two cents (throughout the sale process) because that’s not my role,” Stevens said in part during a team shootaround Wednesday. “It’s their right and everything else to sell the team and make the decision they made. My only thing is just asking to be kept in the loop on everything I need to know from the standpoint of making decisions here and now and moving forward.

“As we get to spend more time with Bill — with Wyc and Bill — then we’ll have more clarity on how we are going to do things. But really, every indication is it’s pretty much business as usual, so I’m excited about that. But again, you spend a lot of money on these things, so you have every right to come in and put your stamp on it however you want, so I’m looking forward to working with him.”

As King noted, the Chisholm group will take over this summer if the sale is approved by the NBA's board of governors. However, Grousbeck is still expected to stay on as the Celtics' CEO and governor through the 2027-28 season.

Stevens has only known the Grousbeck group after being brought on as the team's head coach in 2013. He remained in that post for eight years before being promoted to president of basketball operations in 2021.

The Celtics have enjoyed great success under Stevens' watch, notably winning the NBA championship last year and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals a total of six times. Boston, at 53-19 this season, looks primed for a run back to the Eastern Conference Finals at minimum right now.

Stevens has worked under a highly successful governor in Grousbeck, who (along with his partners) bought the team for $360 million in 2002.

There perhaps could be some concern in how things will be under a new ownership group, especially with the team experiencing so much success of late.

Stevens hasn't met with Chisholm extensively yet, per King. The two did speak with prospective ownership groups were talking with Celtics brass. They've also spoken on the phone since the sale and also met in Sacramento, where the team recently beat the Kings on Monday in front of an attending Chisholm and his wife, Kimberly.

However, he was happy with how much he loved the team.

“Each group had different versions of what they were most interested in,” Stevens said. “And it was really clear how much he loves the Celtics and how much it means to him. And that’s really cool.”

Stevens also spoke about how Chisholm understands how the Celtics have a "good thing going" and the importance of making sure the members of the organization "feel comfortable."

“Everybody’s got to just be themselves, right, and bring their own authenticity to it,” Stevens said. “When you buy a team and when you are invested like that, then he’s gonna bring great ideas. We’ll operate and execute plans that ultimately he wants to. I’ve been really impressed with how committed he seems to be to learning more about how we’ve done things, both the business side and the basketball side. And also the idea that I think he recognizes that we’ve got a good thing going. For me, the most important thing in this whole transition is just the people that I work with feel comfortable. I think that clearly from every indication of every conversation I’ve had with Bill, I do, and I think everybody should.”

For now, though, it's business as usual for the Celtics, who have won 11 of 12 games and look primed for a championship run. A title this year would mark their first back-to-back championships since 1969.

In the meantime, the C's are continuing their West Coast swing with a game against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday evening.