On Monday afternoon, the Celtics’ blockbuster Jaylen Brown for Paul George trade became official, and president Brad Stevens and owner Bill Chisholm addressed the media for the first time. Stevens answered lots of basketball questions by pointing to optionality, the CBA, and the second apron impacting team-building going forward, but a lot of people were waiting to hear how much of this decision was impacted by ownership.
Both Stevens and Chisholm insisted that there was zero mandate for the team to make this deal or to curb spending or shed salary in any way. There has been concern, fueled by the media, floating around that since Chisholm and his group, partially funded by private equity, took over, they are more interested in making money than winning.
But this type of fear-mongering ignores the rules of the current CBA, the realities of the second-apron and team-building in general, especially with two players on supermax contracts taking up 70% of the salary cap in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown trade not motivated by ownership mandate
When asked if there was any financial mandate, Chisholm was steadfast:
"No, absolutely not… I think we have the best front office in the NBA, and they put in their work, and they came to the conclusion this was the best way for us to win, and that's the mandate: Is to win. And I just have to keep saying that there is no —we'll spend whatever it takes to do that. The mandate is to win.”
Obviously, words are wind, and it’s not like he’s going to come out and say the goal is to save money, but his answers make sense. The team was in cap hell when he took over, and in this CBA landscape, to extend the title window and maximize the prime of Tatum, some tough moves had to be made, with Brown being the latest.
Chisholm says moves 'not about the money at all'
Chisholm also spoke about moves like Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and others leaving the team under his watch before Brown, and confidently proclaimed that every move has been about basketball and winning.
“It’s not about the money at all…This was, again, try to put together the right set of players and assets to win now, to win next year, the following year, and the year after that.”
Stevens and Chisholm also spoke about ducking the luxury tax and whether they’ll do so again. They didn’t give a concrete answer, nor should they, but they clearly indicated that there is no mandate to get below the tax and that if there are moves to be made that help the team, the Celtics will make them.
Chisholm also acknowledged the optics that don’t look particularly great, but stated, as he has since day one, that the team needed a reset financially to allow them to rebuild a juggernaut around Tatum and that Stevens has the green light to spend when he sees fit.
Celtics owners will spend when the time is right
I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but everyone is wondering if the team will reset the repeater tax this year, then go all-in next year. That question wasn’t answered directly, and of course, we have no way of knowing what moves will be on the table. But with so much talk about optionality moving forward, and Chisholm’s resolve about spending what it takes to win, that should at least put fans at ease a bit.
There’s no way to know what will happen in the future, but nothing that the Celtics have done so far should indicate that there are any limits on spending or that anything has changed from the previous ownership group. The moves made after the 2023 season were clearly related to a short championship window, and the team got one.
We all knew a reset would come, and now that it’s happening, we shouldn’t move the goalposts because of the sale. The team can spend big again next season, and there’s no reason to assume they won’t. There has been an awful lot of freaking out about things that simply haven’t happened yet. Still, Chisholm realized that’s the perception, and he made clear that he’s going to change it soon and that the Celtics remain committed to winning at the highest level.
“I know we have to prove it, and we will.”
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