Court Sense: $6.1 billion? In this economy?

Boston Globe

21-03-2025

You know how many Costco hot dog and fountain drink combos $6 billion would buy? A lot!
In case you missed it, the long-awaited Celtics sale finally came through Thursday.
The final price?
Chisholm's group, which includes current Celtics co-owner Robert Hale, president of Related Companies Bruce Beal Jr., and the global investment firm Sixth Street, beat out a bid led by another current Celtics co-owner,
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Now the question on everyone's mind: What does this mean for the future of the franchise?
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The answer: I have no idea!
'I'm all about winning championships and raising banners, and doing that now, and also doing it over the long term. I think [Wyc Grousbeck] has done an incredible job of balancing that, and I think that's the path we're on and that's the path we should stay on.'
Are there concerns? Sure. The looming specter of private equity has long been discussed as sports franchise values have ballooned in scale from millions to billions, with very few individual people possessing the resources to spend multiple billions on a sports team. You know who
does
have that kind of capital? Private equity firms. Sixth Street, for example, boasts $75 billion in assets under management, which is, you know, a lot.
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Less than a year after winning Banner 18, the Celtics are being sold.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The concern for most sports fans is that private equity firms are inherently and purely profit-driven. They exist to make money on large scales and to make financial plays — not emotional or competitive ones, which doesn't always square with the competitive and emotional nature of sports.
And in the profit-sharing world of sports, where the revenue gap between contenders and bottom-dwellers isn't all that big, winning championships isn't always the most profitable play.
Who knows. Being bankrolled by a single billionaire backer isn't always a perfect route either (see: the Phoenix Suns).
Time will tell, and all that.
The very future of the franchise aside, there was some actual basketball this week,
The rookie banked in an incredible shot in the final seconds of the third quarter, just to have his moment stolen by a Joe Mazzulla timeout before the shot went up.
Scheierman's response?
It was some night for Scheierman, who poured in a career-high 20 points (he had 30 all season before Tuesday) on a scorching 6 of 7 from deep. I'm glad he had his moment in the sun before a $6.1 billion transaction stole the week's news cycle.
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Let's get into it.
ICYMI 🗞️
Steve Pagliuca (left) was always in the background behind Wyc Grousbeck.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Why not Pags? It seems odd that Steve Pagliuca's Celtics ownership bid was turned down, and other thoughts.
By Dan Shaughnessy
Why not Pags?
This is the takeaway after Thursday morning's news bomb, fan agita, official corporate statements, and private equity high-fiving that went on after the Globe's Adam Himmelsbach broke the story that the Celtics have been sold to an investor group led by complete unknown William Chisholm — a North Shore native who went to Dartmouth and has pledged to 'work to bring more championships home to Boston.'
Swell. So here's just one little question: Why not 'Pags'?
'Pags' is Steve Pagliuca, a Bain Capital billionaire, local philanthropist, basketball insider, and managing general partner and co-owner of the Celtics since Irving Grousbeck and his family led a group that purchased the Celtics for $360 million in December 2002.
When it was announced last summer that the Celtics were for sale, Pags immediately stepped forward. He put together a group that was named one of the four finalists two weeks ago. But Pagliuca's group was not the winner. So after two NBA championships and 23 seasons working with the Grousbecks, he is out.
Other top stories we're watching ...
Private equity investor Bill Chisholm is acquiring the Celtics for $6.1 billion.
So you say you're a Celtics lifer, eh, Bill Chisholm?
The trouble for new ownership? The Celtics are about to get very, very expensive.
The Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week
Congrats to Wyc Grousbeck, a first-time winner of the Joe Mazzulla Quote of the Week.
It was a big day for Grousbeck, who took the first step toward clearing $6.1 billion on a team purchased for $360 million (a return on investment of approximately 'mamma mia that's a lot of moolah' percent) with Thursday's agreement to sell the team.
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Grousbeck was quick to advocate for incoming owner Bill Chisholm, whom Grousbeck described much in the way I would describe, I don't know, the love of my life, or something.
'Bill is spectacular,'
Spectacular. Passionate.
Burning.
What more could you want?
This week in basketball 🏀
Big week for wild 3-pointers at the buzzer. I occasionally poke fun at my, uh, more seasoned colleagues about their aversion to the 3-point shot, and this is not a segment for them. Look away,
A few ridiculous shots from range over the last week or so that I'd like to share with you all, starting with the Pacers'
A couple days later, New York's Mikal Bridges drew a rare double 'Bang!' call from commentator Mike Breen
Then came perhaps my favorite shot of the week, with Jordan Poole (you may remember him from the 2022 NBA Finals)
He followed it with a ... strange celebration, holding his nose and waving his arm in the air, which I
think
is him simulating drowning (because the opponents are drowning in the 'Poole,' I guess?) with a couple seconds still on the clock and a live ball. Jordan Poole, everybody.
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We started this segment with a wild Pacers shot, and we'll end it with a potentially wilder one:
Down by 3 in the final seconds, the Pacers threw the ball to Haliburton running toward the corner, and their star guard delivered with a sensational triple, then converted the ensuing free throw to win the game. Tough loss for Milwaukee, I must say.
Do I always love the sheer volume of 3-pointers that teams throw up these days? Maybe not. But I still love a buzzer-beater from downtown, and I probably always will.
Up next ☘️
The Celtics are on the road Friday to face the Jazz (9:30 p.m., NBC Sports Boston).
This story first appeared in Court Sense, a biweekly Celtics newsletter from Boston Globe Sports.
Amin Touri can be reached at