It's not often a sports franchise of great historical significance becomes available to purchase, but that's the situation with the Boston Celtics.
The NBA's marquee franchise, which won its league record 18th championship back in June with a Finals triumph over the Dallas Mavericks, is for sale.
The team made the announcement not long after the championship parade back in June. And according to Celtics lead owner Wyc Grousbeck, the bidding process could begin fairly soon.
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"The sale process is gearing up and about to hit full speed," Grousbeck said in a recent interview with Adam Himmelsback of The Boston Globe.
"It took this long for our advisors to go through the financial and business data of the team and our whole management team, and spend enough time to put together offering books. Now they’re beginning to have discussions with interested parties and the bidding process will commence in the next month or so."
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Some estimates suggest the team could potentially sell for around $6 billion. Not only are the Celtics a historic franchise, they have a championship roster that should be able to contend for titles well into the future.
There have been conflicting reports on whether Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is interested in purchasing the team. One person who has publicly confirmed interest in putting together a bid is Steve Pagliuca, who has been part of the ownership group since the beginning in 2002. Pagliuca released a statement in July that stated he would "be a proud participant in the bidding process."
Grousbeck was asked about Pagliuca's interest in the team and their many years of friendship.
"We have a totally open bidding process getting underway," Grousbeck told Himmelsbach. "Steve knows that and accepts it. He’s been a great partner and friend for 22 years, and we’re glad to have him interested.
"We’ve been able to work together, with the other ownership, and we’re still basically all together after 22 years. All these guys are limited partners, but I’ve made a point of consulting with them and working with them all the way along, and we have a happy group after 22 years, which is really not very common in the business world.
"And Steve has been super helpful. He introduced Danny Ainge to the mix, which is a hall of fame moment in our Celtics history. Steve’s been great, he continues to be great, but there are no special rights around the bid. That’s the way our documents read, that’s the way we have to play it, so that’s the way we’re playing it."
In addition to the sale process, Grousbeck and the Celtics are focused on defending their title and pursuing a 19th championship banner.
The Celtics have not repeated as champions since the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons, and no team since the 2018 Golden State Warriors has repeated. It's a challenge the Celtics players and head coach Joe Mazzulla will tackle head-on beginning Oct. 22 when the team hosts the New York Knicks at TD Garden in the season opener.
