Bill Simmons details ugly breakup within Celtics ownership

Boston Celtics superfan Bill Simmons says things have been “awkward” between the current Celtics owners for a while.

The Boston Celtics will soon have a new owner after yesterday’s news that the team had been sold to private equity billionaire Bill Chisholm for a record $6.1 billion. However, the bigger news to some may be to whom the Celtics were not sold.

Chisholm is a relatively unknown figure who seemingly came out of nowhere to scoop up one of the NBA”s premier franchises. His $6.1 billion purchase, when official, will become the single-largest team sale in North American sports history.

Steve Pagliuca, a co-owner of the Celtics reportedly bid $6 billion and was believed to be one of the frontrunners to buy the team from fellow co-owner Wyc Grousbeck since he appeared to have the capital, as well as the experience and intimate knowledge of the team’s current operations.

After Grousbeck opted to go with Chisholm’s offer, popular podcaster Bill Simmons, a lifelong Celtics fan, laid out how things had been “uneasy” and “awkward” between Pagliuca and Grousbeck leading up to the team sale.

“I don’t know how great it was going by the end,” Simmons said,” because I think when Pagliuca tried to buy the Nets, and I don’t think Wyc found out from Pagliuca, is my understanding, and I don’t think it’s been great since then. I think the reverse of that was Pagliuca found out that the Celtics were being sold the same way we all did. He was not tipped, he was not given a heads up. So I don’t think that relationship has been great for the last year. This specifically, the way he reacted to the sale, tells me that this is going to get ugly.”

After news broke that Chisholm had bought the Celtics, Pagliuca issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which he seemed to slight Grousbeck’s choice to go with a private equity mogul.

“We made a fully guaranteed and financed offer at a record price, befitting the best sports fans in the world and with all the capital coming from individuals who are committed to winning on and off the court,” the statement reads. “We had no debt or private equity money that would potentially hamstring our ability to compete in the future. We have felt it was the best offer for the Celtics. It is a bid of true fans, deeply connected to Boston’s community, and we’ve been saddened to find out we have not been selected in the process.”

Amid the potential ownership drama, the Celtics are eyeing a second consecutive NBA Championship after winning their first title since 2008 a year ago.

Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate NBA, NFL, and NCAA Football editor for ClutchPoints. Preston also works as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, and previously was a site expert for FanSided’s Union and Blue.