"We'll Do Whatever It Takes. I'm Desperate To Win" - Celtics Owner Bill Chisholm Doubled Down On His Commitment To Building A Championship Contender

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When Bill Chisholm and his partners officially took over the Boston Celtics, he was already facing a bit of an uphill battle. For starters, he was replacing Wyc Grousbeck and a previous ownership group that wasn't just one of the best in Celtics history, but in all of Boston sports history. What I always respected about Wyc & Co wasn't just the fact that you could tell they actually cared, but that when the time came to cut the checks, they always cut the checks. Wyc would famously say that the Celts would pay whatever was required as long as the team was contending, and he (and his Dad) always backed that up (2008, 2024).

So right off the bat, following that group was going to be tough for any new owner, especially following the 2024 title. You then add in all the private equity stuff combined with the timing of all the 2nd apron rules and the Celts roster turnover, and that's another hurdle Bill Chisholm is going to have to overcome. When fans hear "private equity", they tend to expect the worst for obvious reasons. 

When the news was first announced, Bill Chisholm wasted no time talking about how he was just like us (aside from being rich as hell). He loves this team. He bleeds green etc. In the early honeymoon phase, that was all fine and good. It was exactly what I think fans wanted to hear. Coming from Wyc, it was important that the new owner care the same way he did. But in the end, that is just part of the equation. In order for that to truly matter, the basketball/financial commitment stuff has to follow suit.

I think when fans see the trades of the summer of 2025 and then the Celts getting under the luxury tax last year, there is an assumption that this is all coming from Chisholm and PE. That really what they care about is cutting costs. To me, that's a little extreme, because those 2025 trades were always happening. Getting under the luxury tax last year was an important piece of building for the future. In my opinion, those very same moves happen no matter who the owner was. That's just the reality of today's NBA. 

Following the Jaylen Brown trade, there was even more scrutiny put on this new ownership group, because let's be honest, the money was a big part, if not the main driving force, of that decision. The pending extension was unavoidable. If you remember the presser that Brad and Chisholm did following the trade, you could tell how nervous Chisholm was. 

When the first moves of your tenure are trading away a championship roster and then trading a homegrown franchise cornerstone, the optics are pretty tough. Naturally, fans who were skeptical in the first place are only going to feel more skeptical about the future of this group and what it means for the Boston Celtics.

Today, Chisholm hopped on WEEI during the Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon and once again opened up about the Jaylen trade and the future

This is something that myself and I think a lot of other fans needed some time to accept/realize. While the money aspect of the Jaylen Brown trade was an important factor, it wasn't the only factor. It's clear that Brad Stevens and the front office were no longer interested in the basketball services of Jaylen Brown, especially at his price. When you look at their direction under this new CBA (maximizing possessions, turnover suppression, defense etc), there were legitimate basketball reasons as to why that trade happened. You may not agree with those things or that approach, you may think it'll all blow up in their faces, but it was clear that was the front office's feelings. Could Chisholm have overruled everyone? Maybe, but history has shown that listening to Brad Stevens when it comes to basketball decisions is probably a pretty good idea. 

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So now that the trade is done, what comes next? 

As they say, talk is cheap. I don't need fun nicknames like Billy Banners, I need action. The thing you have to remember is we can only judge by what has actually happened under this ownership group. This is where the idea that Chisholm and PE aren't interested in spending and are only going to cut costs starts to fall a little short. All we can do is look at what has taken place this summer:

- They took back the same money in the Jaylen trade (saved no money)

- They paid full top of the market price for Mitchell Robinson (the best free agent center on the market)

- They extended Neemias Queta with a $12M raise 

- They extended Ron Harper Jr

- They extended Jordan Walsh

- They've already committed future money to be over the luxury tax in 2027-28

While during the year getting under the luxury tax was treated as the Cs being cheap, in reality it was that NTP-MLE that landed the best center on the market, who they did not cheapen out on. If you look at their body of work, none of those things are moves done by an ownership group that wants to cut money. 

If you are someone who believes talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words, well then wouldn't the actions of this summer calm your nerves a little bit when it comes to what Chisholm and his partners are willing to do/spend to win another championship? They could have cheapened out on the center position this year, they could have let Queta walk etc. But they did the opposite. 

It's what makes this situation so interesting, because on one hand we're seeing all these trades that, as a fan, are hard to accept, and you want to blame ownership for being cheap. But then on the other hand, that same ownership group has now shown that at every opportunity they've had so far, they've spent. 

Giphy Images.

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Which brings us to the summer of 2027. As we know, the whole point of the moves we've seen this summer when it came to cleaning up both the luxury tax situation and the preference of Paul George's deal was to have the flexibility to take a big swing in the summer of 2027. What Brad Stevens does next summer is his time to show that there was a plan, and that plan will have this team contending for titles for the remainder of Tatum's prime. It'll also be time for Chisholm to continue to back up his words, and cut the checks. Whatever it costs, if Brad Stevens presents something that will make this team better and allow them to contend, then the checks must be cut. That's definitely going to mean going over the luxury tax, and if it means going over the aprons as well, so be it. 

I can understand the reluctance and skepticism about what Chisholm will do when that time comes, but at the end of the day all we can do is judge him by his actions up to this point. When you do that, you see an ownership group that has done its part to back up its talk, just like Wyc did. At the same time, there's a big difference between a NTP-MLE deal and a 30-35% cap hit player. My heart wants to believe he'll step up to the plate when the time comes, but that's a question we unfortunately won't get for another year.