Lower than two weeks after Wyc Grousbeck stepped off a duck boat after a two-mile celebratory trip round Boston, the out-of-the-blue announcement that the Celtics would promote their majority possession stake was made public.
Grousbeck has been the lead proprietor, governor and CEO of the marquee franchise for the previous 22 years, delivering two championships and 4 NBA Finals appearances. Underneath Grousbeck’s reign as possession’s head honcho, the Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen “Huge Three” got here to life, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown turned homegrown studs and Brad Stevens went from ex-college head coach to a front-office genius. Not too shabby for a Massachusetts native who partook within the 2002 buy of the Celtics for $360 million — alongside Steve Pagliuca.
Having hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy twice in Boston, Grousbeck has earned a standing ovation from the Celtics. He did all the pieces in his energy to decide to protecting the group aggressive for over twenty years, was clear, open and trustworthy by means of all of it and did the group an all-time stable earlier than cleansing out his workplace: protecting all the pieces Stevens did intact to open a multi-year window for extra titles.
“It’s type of bizarre, really, having stability,” Jaylen Brown mentioned on media day. “Trigger over the past couple of years we’ve had the top coaches change, coaches leaving in the midst of the season, trades, gamers out and in. No person mentions that whenever you lose so it’s good to listen to it as an excuse now whenever you win; that we’ve some stability, however it positively feels a little bit bit completely different. However I feel it’ll be good for us to proceed to construct off the chemistry that we have already got and take some leaps ahead.”
Stevens pulled off a three-team blockbuster to amass Kristaps Porzingis final offseason and as quickly because the 7-footer arrived in Boston, the Celtics instantly signed him to a two-year, $60 million contract extension. Jrue Vacation, earlier than the playoffs, signed a four-year, $135 million deal to remain in Boston — and that was simply the beginning. Jayson Tatum, with a record-large $315 million supermax contract, Derrick White ($125 million), Sam Hauser ($45 million), Xavier Tillman Sr., Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet had been all retained on extensions. However even that wasn’t the top both.
Story continues beneath commercial
The Celtics had been engaged on draft night time in June, deciding on Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) and Anton Watson (Gonzaga) earlier than extending an invitation to six-year veteran Lonnie Walker IV, who stood out in the course of the preseason.
Grousbeck ensured that no matter who can be the bulk proprietor shifting ahead, the looming sale uncertainty wouldn’t intervene with the Celtics within the current. Boston isn’t shifting its goalpost. Certain, Banner 18 is seized, the parade is over with and the confetti has been swept off the parquet, however Stevens didn’t construct the elite solid round Tatum and Brown for a one-and-done run on the NBA’s mountaintop.
“We’ve had actually good management round right here, and so they’ve mainly mentioned, ‘Hey, clearly, we’ve put a group collectively. This has been a long-term plan, to be the place we’re proper now,’” Stevens mentioned on media day. “Plans don’t all the time go the best way you need them to. This one, to date, has been fairly easy however there’ll all the time be challenges that come together with that. The way in which that they’ve phrased it to me from the standpoint of for the reason that sale was introduced was we simply must hold doing what we’re doing, and enterprise as standard and do what you may to construct the most effective group that we will and we’ll see what occurs from there.”
Boston’s previous, current and future give Grousbeck greater than sufficient causes to tip his cap to the Celtics with pleasure as he strikes on and bids the franchise farewell.
Story continues beneath commercial
