Recent Celtics sale hits a notable snag

The Boston Celtics still apparently have some key issues to work out before they can officially finalize the sale of their franchise.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke with reporters on Thursday and gave a noteworthy update on the impending sale of the Celtics. Earlier this month, the team announced that longtime owner Wyc Grousbeck had entered into an agreement to sell the team to a new ownership group led by billionaire Bill Chisholm. The deal reportedly comes with a valuation of over $6B for the Celtics.

But on Thursday, Silver revealed that the deal for the sale of the Celtics, as currently structured, would include an investment of over $1B from Sixth Street, which is a private equity firm. That could go against NBA rules, which state that a controlling owner must own at least a 15% stake in the franchise as well as a larger stake than any private equity firm has.

Silver added that the NBA is not considering changing its rules for Sixth Street and that the entire deal is still being reviewed by the league office.

“It’s very early days in that transaction,” Silver said of the sale of the Celtics, per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “We’re just learning about it. We haven’t had a chance to not just vet potential owners but to really dig into the specifics of the deal.”

Vorkunov also reports that the deal for the sale of the Celtics features some additional complexities. For one, Grousbeck, as part of the current agreement, would reportedly remain as the governor and CEO of the Celtics for three more seasons beyond this one (through 2027-28). You can read Vorkunov’s full report on the situation here.

Grousbeck, 63, has owned the Celtics since 2002, purchasing the team for $360M as the leader of the ownership group Boston Basketball Partners LLC. He announced after the Celtics won the NBA title last summer that he was formally putting the team up for sale and has now managed to find a buyer less than one full year later.

It seems likely at this point that the two sides will alter the deal slightly to comply with NBA rules and get it over the finish line. But as we have seen recently with other NBA franchises up for sale, the process can sometimes be a very bumpy one.