A twist emerges in $6 billion Celtics sale as new owner readies for control

The old Celtics regime is exiting sooner than anticipated.

Boston owner Wyc Grousbeck will no longer remain as the team’s governor after businessman Bill Chisholm purchased the team for $6.1 billion in a twist, according to ESPN.

Grousbeck originally had been slated to stay with the team through the 2027-28 season.

He is expected to remain as CEO, per ESPN, and shift to an alternate governor role upon the completion of the sale, which reportedly should be finalized within the next week.

Original reports in March of the Celtics sale — which at the time set the record for an NBA franchise — said that Grousbeck would remain as governor for the next three seasons.

He told ESPN at the time that Chisholm asked him to do so and he was “glad to do so,” but those plans have since changed.

Grousbeck, 64, sold the team following a clash with his 91-year-old father, Irving, regarding the team’s future payroll in the aftermath of winning the 2024 championship.

Boston had been slated for a roster that would cost roughly $500-600 million for the 2025-26 season before making payroll-slashing moves this offseason, including the trades of veterans Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks and Jrue Holiday to the Trail Blazers.

Chisholm’s first Celtics team is not expected to be as stout as the recent lineups the Celtics have employed since Jayson Tatum likely will miss the entire season after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs.

This Boston transition is different than the one happening in Los Angeles where Lakers heiress Jeanie Buss will remain as the team’s governor for the next five seasons after selling majority ownership of the team to businessman and Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a historic $10 billion valuation.

Team president Rich Gotham still believes the Celtics, anchored by stars Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, can be a quality team next season.

“You’re going to see a team out there working as hard as possible to win. I don’t think it’s inconceivable that we will be a good team — a good winning team — this year,” Gotham said last week.