Wyc Grousbeck Addresses Reported Family Feud Over Celtics Payroll

The Boston Celtics signed Jayson Tatum to a record-setting $315 million extension, but the biggest offseason news bomb came in the form of the franchise announcing its intentions to sell the majority ownership stake following a two-plus-decade-long run under the guidance and leadership of Wyc Grousbeck.

Less than a month after the Celtics ignited a confetti and champagne-filled party at TD Garden to celebrate the end of an NBA Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks, it became official: Grousbeck's days as a member of the team's ownership group were dwindling. The franchise -- for the first time since 2002 -- once again, had hit the market, up for the highest bidder. Considering the Celtics had just captured Banner 18, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had slingshot from All-Stars with title hopes to champions, the decision to step down and sell came as a surprise. It even sparked some outside chit-chat on the rooted intentions behind the sale, which, according to Josh Kosman and Brian Lewis of the New York Post, stemmed from a Grousbeck family disagreement about the team's costly payroll.

Wyc denied all rumors of a Grousbeck family feud.

"The Grousbeck family is selling the team for estate and family planning considerations," Wyc told the New York Post. "To say the sale is in any way related to losses is completely incorrect. There has not been a capital call from ownership, or any additional investment of any kind, in the 22 years since Boston Basketball Partners bought the team and we don't anticipate there being one."

Boston enters the 2024-25 season with a payroll over $630 million allocated to the team's starting lineup of Tatum, Jaylen Brown -- last summer's highest-paid player ever -- Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Grousbeck gave Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens direct orders to not bring back the 2022-23 roster that fell one win short of beating a much less talented Miami Heat team. Stevens heard Grousbeck's message loud and clear, delivered Porzingis and Holiday in blockbuster fashion, and the rest was history. Boston went an NBA-best 64-18, didn't lose more than two times consecutively, including in the playoffs, and cruised to a 16-3 postseason run before seizing Banner 18.

Grousbeck's efforts in restoring Boston's title-contending form leave whoever does replace the two-time finals-winning owner in great hands, although with a tricky payroll to navigate, opening a window for a potential Celtics dynasty.