Some Celtics fans were upset when the Grousbecks sold the team after winning the 2024 title, feeling like the rug had been pulled out and that Wyc wasn’t upfront about how much his father was calling the shots. Fans weren’t thrilled with Chisholm and how much private equity was involved.
As the stars from the 2024 title run have been largely sold off in the last two years, some feelings of true resentment have developed within the fanbase. But that’s off base. This was always the plan, whether the team changed hands or not. Brad Stevens is the one calling the shots, and he wanted to get out of the second apron and reset the repeater tax all along.
But even if you don’t believe that and want to blindly hate the owners of the team, you have to take some serious solace in watching what’s going on with the league’s other most storied franchise, the hated Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers' ownership situation is an absolute disaster
Since Jerry Buss passed away, the whole situation has been one giant mess with his children fighting like a real-life version of the HBO hit show Succession. The Busses finally sold the team last year to Dodgers owner Mark Walter, but kept a 17.8% stake, which allowed Jeannie Buss to keep running the team as Governor.
But less than a year after that sale, Walter has run into his own financial trouble and has abruptly flipped the team like an investment to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. And now, mere days after that sale, it has been announced that the Buss family is selling their remaining shares and getting out of the Lakers business completely, with the family releasing an ominous statement that ended by saying:
“We love the Lakers, Laker fans and will continue to support Los Angeles; but it is time to use this opportunity to move on and exit gracefully while we still can."
It’s important to note that with 0% ownership, that’s obviously less than the 15% needed to remain Governor, so Jeannie is completely out, regardless of the deal she made with Walter. Furthermore, it has trickled out that the family voted 5-1 to sell, with Jeannie wanting to hold the shares.
Buss family drama wilder than reality TV
And as if this all wasn’t messy enough, now Jeannie has released a statement through her lawyers claiming that the report of the sale by Shams Charania is false, that her brothers are leaking information to Shams maliciously to hurt the Lakers and Jeannie, and that the vote to sell the team by the siblings is void and will not go through.
If this seems too crazy to be true, that’s because it mostly is. This situation is absolutely nuts, and to see it playing out in the public eye like this is an absolute disaster for such a proud franchise. It’s sad to see that it has come to this, and it’s hard not to feel bad for what has happened to the family.
But as a Celtics fan, it’s beautiful to watch this mess unfold, and I can only hope that it gets even uglier and negatively impacts the on-court product with the team in some way. Regardless of how it all gets sorted out, it has to make you feel a lot better about the ownership situation we’ve been blessed with in Boston for most of this decade.
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