Tag: Wyc Grousbeck

WATCH: Celtics introduce All-Star guard Jrue Holiday with introductory press conference

During his introductory press conference, Jrue Holiday said joining the Boston Celtics was his “best chance of winning.”

It was a memorable summer for the Boston Celtics, with the team ending a busy offseason by acquiring All-Star guard Jrue Holiday just days before training camp. Holiday is an accomplished veteran player and an NBA champion and will look to help Boston contend for a coveted 18th banner.

“I feel like coming here is definitely my best chance of winning,” Holiday said of joining the Celtics during an introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon. Holiday was complimentary of his new club, while Celtics co-Governors Wyc Grousbeck and Steven Pagliuca and team president Brad Stevens returned the favor with their own excitement and admiration for the newest member of the club.

You can check out the entire press conference on YouTube, courtesy of our friends at the CLNS Media Network.

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On this day: Grousbeck, Pagliuca buy Celtics; Bing, Milicic signed

On this day, Wyc Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, and partners bought the Boston Celtics, and the team signed Dave Bing and Darko Milicic.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, an investment group headed by Wycliffe K. Grousbeck, of Highland Capital Partners, and Stephen Pagliuca, managing director of Bain Capital, began the process of buying the Boston Celtics from the Gaston family in 2002.

The sale had been announced by Paul Gaston, whose father Donald purchased the team in 1983 for $18 million. Grousbeck, Pagliuca, and partners purchased the team for $360 million 19 years later. Pagliuca and Grousbeck described themselves as lifelong fans of the franchise, and the latter was extremely excited about the purchase of the team.

So much so that he said he felt “like the tooth fairy” had visited him, at the time according to the New York Times’ Fox Butterfield.

Projecting the Boston Celtics’ 2023-24 season part I: Ownership

Deep in the depths of the 2023 offseason, there are still a number of questions about the Boston Celtics in terms of their potential, their weaknesses, their strengths, and what we expect from the team on a more granular level.

Deep in the depths of the 2023 offseason, there are still a number of questions about the Boston Celtics in terms of their potential, their weaknesses, their strengths, and what we expect from the team on a more granular level.

To set out expectations and get a bead on one of the most important seasons in recent Celtics history, the writers at USA TODAY’s Celtics Wire put our heads together to create a four-pronged exploration of Boston and their 2023-24 campaign that will focus on the team’s ownership, front office, players, and prospects for full season awards for the season ahead.

We’ll start off the first installation with Adam Taylor, Cameron Tabatabaie, and Justin Quinn breaking down their expectations of the team’s ownership group as the ball club makes a run on the 2024 title and a league-record 18th banner.

Wyc Grousbeck trusts Joe Mazzulla as head coach of the Boston Celtics

Boston even reshaped the roster to better fit his system for their 2023-24 campaign.

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The Boston Celtics are very clearly planning to keep head coach Joe Mazzulla around moving forward, evidenced by yet another strong endorsement from principal team owner Wyc Grousbeck in a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

The former interim coach got the gig in the wake of the Ime Udoka scandal and managed to get the team to the brink of returning to the NBA Finals despite all of the tumult built into his first season in his current role. That, and his offense-first style of play that has come to be known as “Mazzulla ball,” has engendered a fair amount of confidence in the team’s front office.

Boston even reshaped the roster to better fit his system for their 2023-24 campaign; what else can Grousbeck’s interview tell us about Mazzulla’s future in Boston?

The host of the “Locked On Celtics” podcast John Karalis and guest Tom Westerholm of Boston.com dove deep into Grousbeck’s comments to the globe with a focus on Mazzulla.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear more.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston Celtics officially applying to be the host of the 2026 All-Star Game

Team co-governor Wyc Grousbeck confirmed earlier reports about the bid in a recent interview.

The Boston Celtics, despite not having hosted the NBA All-Star Game for over 54 years, are actively working to end this drought by submitting an official application to have the city host the 2026 All-Star Game according to team co-owner Wyc Grousbeck in a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

The last time the Celtics hosted an All-Star Game was in 1964 at the old Boston Garden, which featured future Hall of Fame players like Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, and Sam Jones. This was a time when the storied ball club had won only six championship banners, and it’s been a significant period of success in that regard since then.

“We’re on it,” said Grousbeck of the Celtics’ All-Star bid. “It’s taking up planning time. The wheels are in motion. We’re definitely going for it.”

Given how long of a gap there has been since the last one — it’s about time.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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What can we learn from Wyc Grousbeck’s interview with the Boston Globe?

Grousbeck acknowledged the need for change after two disappointing seasons ended short of a title, for one.

Earlier this week, Boston Celtics co-governor Wyc Grousbeck gave the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach a revealing and wide-ranging interview that helped fans of the storied ball club get a better sense of what was behind a number of surprising moves by the team this offseason.

Grousbeck acknowledged the need for change after two disappointing seasons ended short of a title for the Celtics, and highlighted the organization’s alignment on this new direction the team was taking under head coach Joe Mazzulla. Pivoting from longtime point guard Marcus Smart and preparing for a future without veteran big man Al Horford, Grousbeck explained the decision to move away from Marcus Smart and Al Horford.

To hear more about what we learned from the Celtics co-owner’s interview, check out the clip embedded below for a segment from the CLNS Media “Garden Report” podcast that has the hosts diving deep into Grousbeck’s recent comments.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Making sense of Wyc Grousbeck’s recent interview on a retooled Boston Celtics roster

Per Grousbeck, the goal was to bring in additional talent, and Celtics brass have already traded for former Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis.

In a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Boston Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck discussed the franchise’s plans for the 2023-24 NBA season. The front office aimed to shake up the roster in the offseason after a disappointing exit from the 2023 Eastern Conference finals at the hands of a determined Miami Heat squad.

Per Grousbeck, the goal was to bring in additional talent, and Celtics brass traded for former Washington Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis. The team is focused on strengthening its big man rotation and will look to add to the roster as opportunities arise.

To talk over what Grousbeck had to say in the interview about this iteration of the team, check out the most recent episode of the “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast embedded below.

There’s also chatter on where to rank the Jays as a duo and rumbles about Blake Griffin.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck reflects on hiring Joe Mazzulla amid Udoka situation

Wyc Grousbeck offered high praise for Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, saying “he’s got world-class intensity, drive, and knowledge.”

When the Boston Celtics formally suspended former head coach Ime Udoka in late September of 2022, what happened next for the club was unclear. The move came after an investigation uncovered an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer, prompting the organization to act. Just a few months prior, Boston had made a return to the NBA Finals. How would the team maintain its momentum and poise?

One of the first acts made by the organization was to promote assistant coach Joe Mazzulla to the role of interim head coach. (The interim label was officially dropped the following February.) At the time, it was a surprising choice. According to Boston Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck, however, Mazzulla came highly recommended. It was President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens who suggested Mazzulla step in, a choice Grousbeck recently told the Boston Globe he’s very glad he signed off on.

“We were in an interesting situation at the beginning of last season,” Grousbeck said.”And Brad strongly recommended Joe for the job. And Brad feels even more strongly about him now, and I agree.”

Wyc Grousbeck on reshaping the Boston Celtics for 2023-24

Grousbeck is not the most ubiquitous person in the Celtics organization, but as lead Governor of the storied franchise, his voice carries weight

Wyc Grousbeck is not the most ubiquitous person in the Boston Celtics organization, but as lead Governor of the storied franchise, his voice carries weight when he does talk about his team. Grousbeck recently sat down for an interview on the state of his ball club with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, and Grousbeck shed some light on a number of recent moves and concerns around the team in it.

The Celtics co-owner expressed optimism about the team’s chances to contend for a championship despite missing out on titles in recent seasons and revealed that the team made a conscious decision to not bring back the same roster after falling short of Banner 18 for the second consecutive season in which Boston was seen as a serious title contender.

“We had really talented teams for the last two years, but inconsistency at the end of each of the last two seasons cost us,” he explained.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck on Marcus Smart: ‘Our friendship is going to continue’

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck had nothing but love for Marcus Smart in a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

Veteran guard Marcus Smart spent his first nine seasons in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. Boston selected Smart with the No. 6 pick in the 2014 draft, and the Texas native was with the club for almost a decade full of high highs and low lows. A bonafide leader on and off the court, Celtics fans, players, and personnel have thus spent the summer reflecting on Smart’s tenure in Boston now that he is set to suit up for the Memphis Grizzlies next season.

Add Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck to the chorus of voices singing Smart’s praises. In a recent interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Grousbeck spoke about Smart’s impact on the Celtics. Likewise, he spoke about his enduring relationship with Smart.

“What I remember most about Marcus is his energy and his smile,” Grousbeck stated. “He brought so much to this team and will definitely be missed. Our friendship is going to continue.”