Brad Stevens shares that Wyc Grousbeck has still been ‘very active’ with Celtics amid ownership change

Bill Chisholm’s purchase of the Celtics hasn’t been finalized yet, but he’s had an active presence in team meetings this offseason. So has a key member of the ownership group Chisholm is taking over for.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens mentioned the role that departing owner Wyc Grousbeck has had with the organization this offseason when he was asked about the conversations he’s had with Chisholm.

“Wyc is obviously still the governor and has been obviously very, very active,” Stevens

told reporters Saturday in Las Vegas

When it was announced that Chisholm’s group agreed to buy the Celtics from the Grousbeck family in March, it was also shared at the time that Grousbeck would remain on as the team’s governor until 2028.

However, while that agreement was in place, there was some skepticism over just how much power Grousbeck would have in the owner transition. For instance, Mark Cuban thought he had a similar arrangement when he sold his majority stake in the Mavericks late in 2023. But after Cuban said he was still going to run the team’s basketball operations, Patrick Dumont replaced him as governor in 2024. The Lakers

are also going through a similar conundrum

with Jeanie Buss after her family sold the team.

Some also wondered if the Celtics’ decision to immediately cut payroll this offseason was a mandate from the new ownership group. Faced with the possibility of having to pay over $500 million in salaries and luxury tax bills, Boston traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to help get under the second luxury tax apron. It also let Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and

the team expects Al Horford to do the same

Earlier in the week, Stevens told reporters

that cutting salary wasn’t a mandate from Chisholm

, saying that the new owner “wants to make sure that we’re prioritizing basketball assets.” But Stevens admitted that he wanted to get under the second luxury tax apron due to the roster-building penalties that come with being above that tax line.

As Boston has already gone through a lot of change this offseason, Stevens shared that Chisholm has also had an active presence behind the scenes.

“I think Bill has been in pretty much every meeting or Zoom that we’ve had with the governors and ownership and everything else,” Stevens said. “So, he’s been great. I’m a big fan and he’s got a great way about him. I think he’s very smart. He loves the Celtics.”

Stevens also credited Chisholm’s mindset as the Celtics have had to wade through some tough waters over the last couple of months.

“He didn’t take over at the easiest of times when you talk about the second apron issues that we talked about the other day, and [Jayson] Tatum’s injury, and everything else,” Stevens said. “But he’s so level-headed and he’s got such a good way about him. I’m really excited to have him around.”

Chisholm will soon get to call himself the owner of the Celtics officially. The NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to approve of his group’s purchase of the team during Summer League in Las Vegas this week,

according to

The Boston Globe

‘s Adam Himmelsbach

Chisholm’s group agreed to purchase the Celtics’ majority stake from Wyc Grousbeck for a valuation of $6.1 billion in March, making it the richest sale of a franchise in North American sports history at the time. The sale of the Lakers broke that record in June, with Mark Walter purchasing the team for a valuation of $10 billion.