New Boston Celtics owner Bill Chisholm will apparently be trying his best not to meddle.
Chisholm held his introductory press conference on Thursday as the new majority owner of the Celtics. At one point, Chisholm made some interesting comments about who will be making the decisions for the team moving forward. Chisholm said that the driving force would continue to be the president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens.
“There’s such a thing as a ‘new owner curse,’ and I’m well aware of that,” said Chisholm, per Jay King of The Athletic. “Ultimately, it’s kind of being self-aware in terms of what your strengths and weaknesses are and surrounding yourself with people that are the best of the best.
“The way that decisions have been made here to date, that’s what you’re going to see going forward as well,” Chisholm added. “Those basketball decisions, Brad is driving that for sure.”
Chisholm, a managing partner at private equity firm Symphony Technology Group, is the leader of the ownership group that agreed in principle to purchase the Celtics at a record-shattering valuation back in March. He was then formally approved by the NBA last month as the Celtics’ new majority owner.
Meanwhile, longtime Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, who purchased the team in 2002 before selling to Chisholm, will remain involved with the Celtics until 2028 when the sale is fully finalized. However, Grousbeck is now set to serve as the team’s CEO and alternate governor while Chisholm assumes the role of lead governor.
Indeed, the NBA has recently seen some cautionary tales about overly-eager new owners who meddle in basketball decisions and end up doing so to the ultimate detriment of their team (including Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia). But it appears that Chisholm will be exercising some restraint here and allowing the Celtics’ established group of decision-makers (led by Stevens) to continue doing their thing.
