Michael Holley: We Should’ve Seen The Sale of The Celtics Coming
On Tuesday’s edition of Toucher & Hardy (hosted by Michael Holley, Matt McCarthy, and Mike Lockhart), Michael Holley makes the case that fans should’ve seen this coming after the news broke yesterday that Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck plans to sell the team.
“The Reason We Didn’t is Because We Think Like Fans…“
Matt McCarthy: Who saw this one coming?
Michael Holley: We should have. Right. We should have. Yeah, we should have seen it coming. The reason we didn’t, is because we think like fans. We don’t think like business people. Like, if you’re a fan, there’s never a good time for an owner like Wyc Grousbeck to sell his stake in the Celtics. It’s never a good time because you might say to yourself, well, why now? Why? Well, it’s not a good time in three years for you. It’s not a good time in five years, when you have an owner who knows the difference between Boston College and Boston University. An owner who knows how to pronounce Worcester and from Worcester. Local ownership is priceless. Local engaged ownership. So it’s never a good time for you as a fan for that person to move on. However, as a business person, just won a championship, just signed the best players to huge contracts. Everybody’s got a contract. General manager is stable, and the fan base is rabid. Put in $360,000,000 in 2002, and now it’s 2024. Pierce was low, I don’t care what Forbes says. Forbes can say $4.7 billion, $4.1 billion. No, it’s at least five billion, five and a half billion, maybe more because you’re the Celtics. So just kind of push it up a little bit. I think that that valuation, even for a franchise without a building, is low. So this is the perfect time for Wyc Grousbeck to sell. I hate to say it that way because this is painful.
Matt McCarthy: I don’t begrudge this in one bit.
Michael Holley: This is painful.
Matt McCarthy: I don’t begrudge him one bit for wanting to sell this team. With the way things are going in the NBA, the bill is about to come due. You know what I mean? Let’s be honest. They’re going to spend close to $1 billion in salaries here in coming years, and that’s just really in the next 2 to 3 years. Let’s see where it goes beyond that. So I don’t begrudge him one bit for selling. But Holley, I think you got to it. Yesterday was a bad day for the Celtics. If you’re a Celtics fan, yesterday was a really, really bad day because you said it. Local ownership is priceless. Local engaged ownership is priceless. Say what you will about any owner in sports. Isn’t Wyc kind of the model? Isn’t that exactly what you want? Somebody who never once over the course of the last 22 years, felt like he stopped trying to have his team win.
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Celtics offseason to-do list: What's on tap for Brad Stevens this summer?
Celtics President of Basketball Ops Brad Stevens just got his team to the summit, but he still has work to do if he wants to stay there.
The entire main roster will remain intact for the 2024-25 season, if Stevens stands pat on what he has. But there’s at least one, if not two major contract extensions to get done, and even the defending champions could use some reinforcements or tweaks to the formula. Stevens also has the draft and some possible coaching moves to consider.
Stevens has proven to be a forward thinker who is unafraid to make bold moves, so another active summer can’t be ruled out. But even if Stevens stands pat with all his primary pieces, he’ll still have some key tasks on his plate that Celtics fans should familiarize themselves with before the next few months unfold.
Here’s a look at seven things for Stevens to work on in the off-season…
Get Jayson Tatum’s supermax done
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 17: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts after a play during the second quarter of Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The C’s made Jaylen Brown the highest-paid player in NBA history last summer. One year later, they’re about to do it again with Jayson Tatum.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Tatum is expected to be offered the richest contract in NBA history this off-season. That would be a five-year deal worth $315 million, or $63 million per season. It’ll be the most expensive no-brainer ever.
This is sort of an obvious one – they aren’t going to walk away from Tatum now. Re-up and go for multiple championships, with Tatum and Brown leading the way in the prime of their careers. It’s just a matter of when the deal is finalized.
Extend Derrick White
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 09: Derrick White #9 of the Boston Celtics reacts after a made basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the fourth quarter in Game Two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 09, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
White reportedly wants to stay in Boston long-term, so this will be another contractual task for Stevens, and a less obvious one than Tatum.
For some teams, signing a player to a supermax and having the two biggest contracts in the NBA might preclude them from continuing to spend exorbitantly on the pieces around them. But Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck has shown a willingness to pay the luxury tax, and it appears that he will simply continue to do so. You know, for the banners.
White is signed through the 2024-25 season at just over $20 million. A new extension could pay him closer to the range of his teammate, Jrue Holiday, who is on the books for $33.6 million.
Get some big man insurance
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 09: Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics reacts during the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Two of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 09, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
When Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford are both healthy and available, the Celtics have a formidable frontcourt. Unfortunately, Porzingis has had enough injury-shortened seasons to prove that he can’t be relied upon to be healthy by the end of the season, and Horford turned 38 years old earlier this month.
So, it would behoove Stevens to add another big that can play legitimate minutes – that is, unless he wants to retain Luke Kornet, or the undersized Xavier Tillman. But preferably, someone with the appropriate size. To find a two-way threat at that spot would be to discover a unicorn, which Stevens already did with Porzingis.
Despite Porzinzgis’ skills at both ends of the court, the Celtics missed his rim protection more than his shooting when he was out. They may want to lean that way for a new addition, whether it’s a free agent or a trade acquisition.
Fill out the bench
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 17: Payton Pritchard #11 of the Boston Celtics and Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks watch Pritchard’s half court buzzer beating shot during the second quarter of Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The aforementioned big man would be part of what may be a prudent plan for the C’s to build themselves a legit bench, so they wouldn’t have to rely so much on their top 5-7 players throughout the season. Their depth was tested during the playoffs when Porzingis went down, and while they passed with flying colors, it may not be sustainable going forward to have limited depth beyond their starters.
As detailed earlier, it would also help them preserve their aging/injury-prone bigs for the long haul if they had more frontcourt players that they could play for extended minutes and exercise some good-old-fashioned load management.
Figure out Sam Hauser’s contract
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 17: Sam Hauser #30 of the Boston Celtics reacts after a basket against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter of Game Five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 17, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Celtics have a club option for $2 million on Hauser, who is coming off a solid season as a sharpshooting reserve wing who gives a good, honest effort on the defensive end of the floor. He’s a solid fit and should be considered for a long-term deal.
It may be best for both sides to simply forego the club option and iron out a new contract. Hauser has grown into a valuable bench piece, especially after performing reasonably well in the playoffs.
Draft someone 30th overall
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 22: NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Stevens traded away so, so many draft picks to make this roster happen. Now, it’s not the worst idea to start using those picks again, especially the 30th pick in the first round of next week’s NBA Draft. The Celtics haven’t drafted in the first round since 2020, when they selected Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, and Desmond Bane (good haul!).
Stevens apparently was ready to get right back to draft scouting after the Celtics won the championship, so he appears ready to make his first selection in the first round since becoming president of basketball ops.
Replenish the coaching staff
Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reacts after a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter in game five of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics are already losing Charles Lee and Jeff Van Gundy off Joe Mazzulla’s staff, and assistant Sam Cassell could possibly find a new gig after a championship run. So, Stevens is going to have to find new assistants to add under Mazzulla.
It’ll be interesting to see the Celtics’ approach this time, with Mazzulla a year older, having shown real growth as a head coach in the 2023-24 season. Perhaps they won’t need to flood the staff with veteran assistants this time.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
