New Celtics owner wants to win, but will he do what it takes?
The Boston Celtics’ new owner is a lifelong fan who wants to carry on the franchise’s long-standing tradition of championships and excellence.
How does he plan to accomplish that?
Bill Chisholm, a billionaire private equity executive who is a managing partner and the chief investment officer at Symphony Technology Group in Menlo Park, Calif., is taking over a majority stake in the Celtics, and keeping Wyc Grousbeck aboard as governor for the first three years of his tenure. Chisholm certainly sounds like he trusts Grousbeck, and especially president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, to run the team and build a championship-caliber roster. That’s a plus.
He’s also a native of Georgetown, Mass. who grew up rooting for the Celtics and has a deep knowledge and passion for the team. Also a plus. This at least means he wants them to keep adding to their NBA-best 18 championship banners. He doesn’t view the C’s as just another asset that he would let rot away on the basketball court in the name of soulless profits.
But Chisholm isn’t necessarily in the business of spending every dollar it takes. The whole point of a private equity firm is to acquire a company, fix it up, and eventually flip it for more than the purchase price. Chisholm definitely isn’t turning around and selling the Celtics any time soon, and it’s possible he treats this organization like more of a passion project. But spending to the upper limits and ponying up for luxury taxes isn’t exactly Chisholm’s background.
So, it’s fair to wonder what the Celtics’ spending is going to look like with Chisholm at the helm. He’s taking over a basketball team that is on track to enter the 2025-26 season with the most money over the luxury tax. Ultimately, all that should matter to Celtics fans is that he’s happy to foot that bill.
Chisholm joined NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg for an exclusive interview last week, along with Grousbeck. For context, Forsberg asked Chisholm directly: “How committed are you to keeping the product we see currently on the court, long-term?”
Chisholm started with a comment about the team’s history of success and “commitment to excellence,” before reiterating that he looks to continue that legacy.
“I want to raise banners. I want to raise them now, and I want to raise them in the future, as well,” Chisholm said. “I look at what Wyc has done and Brad has done and Joe has done, and the time is now, and they’ve also set the team up for the future as well.
“That’s part of the reason why I come in here, and we come in here as a new investor group. We’re partnering with Wyc, here, because he’s done an amazing job, and why would you change that at this point?”
For what it’s worth, Chisholm sounds like a massive fan of Stevens, and will not meddle in his operation.
“It’s like I’m star-struck,” Chisholm said, on meeting with Stevens for the first time. “Brad Stevens is a basketball genius. To be able to sit with him and just hear how he thinks about the Celtics and talent and building culture and all that — amazing. That was an incredible opportunity and I look forward to having more of those with him.”
But he never quite answered the key question. The guys in charge will remain the same, but will their budget? Chisholm can say or not say whatever he wants. What matters is his actions.
If he intends to get the Celtics under the second apron, or under the luxury tax altogether, then he would signify that his plan to continue the Celtics’ success does not entail maximizing his spending. He would ostensibly want the C’s to win more efficiently, to sustain their success while trimming payroll underneath Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The more apocalyptic idea would be if Chisholm wanted to break up Boston’s dynamic, but ultra-expensive, star duo.
The Celtics’ depth of high-end talent, and that they spent what it took to keep them together, made them a dominant NBA champion in 2024, and gives them a legitimate chance to be the first team to repeat since the 2018 Warriors.
They’ll be a top contender as long as they have Tatum and Brown, and perhaps even just Tatum. The question for Chisholm is his methods for building around them.
Until he proves willing to do everything it takes to push them over the finish line as champions, the questions on spending and investing will remain.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
