New Celtics ownership rumor could lead to the destruction of the team

The Boston Celtics won their 18th banner in June, and they followed it up with a parade. But shortly after everything settled down, a bombshell hit Celtics Nation. Wyc Grousbeck plans to sell the team after 22 years and two titles.

Since then, there haven’t been a ton of legitimate rumors regarding who could buy the Celtics. Jeff Bezos has been thrown around as a potential bidder, but there have been conflicting reports on the topic. Outside of that, there haven’t been a ton of options.

The most recent ownership rumor came from Courtney Cox on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI. She said that a source she spoke with narrowed the ownership options down to three potential candidates: Bezos, Wynn Encore, and Sam Kennedy, who is a part of Fenway Sports Group.

Fenway Sports Group buying the Celtics could lead to the destruction of the team

“Now, I say that he or she is not from the area because they then say to me, ‘The final one is someone I don’t know: Sam Kennedy.’ And I gasped,” Cox said. “It says ‘Sam Kennedy and group,’ which is Fenway Sports Group.”

She followed up by clarifying that the person she spoke with singled out Kennedy without mentioning FSG.

“It does not say ‘Fenway Sports Group.’ It says ‘Sam Kennedy,’” Cox said.

Obviously, until there are official reports from the likes of Shams Charania, Adrian Wojnarowski, or a local reporter such as Gary Washburn or Adam Himmelsbach, all rumors should be taken with a huge grain of salt. But this isn’t the first time Fenway Sports Group has been linked to the Celtics. They’ve been mentioned in the past.

Should they purchase the Celtics, it could destroy the team.

The Celtics currently have one of the most expensive payrolls in NBA history. They handed Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum record-breaking contract extensions in back-to-back seasons, and on top of that, they gave out $30+ million per-year contracts to Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis. Add in the Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard extensions, and Boston has a hefty tax bill.

FSG has been notoriously cheap with the Boston Red Sox. They have refused to pay some players, and the highlight (or in this case, lowlight) of their tenure was trading away Mookie Betts instead of paying him.

If they took over the Celtics, there’s a good chance they would be uncomfortable paying such a large tax bill. That could lead to significant moves, such as breaking up the team and destroying the Celtics as we know it.

At the very least, they probably wouldn’t want to continue spending once the current contract extensions dry up.

Fenway Sports Group buying the Celtics would have the potential to be a disaster.