Outgoing Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said that neither he, nor incoming owner Bill Chisholm, will force changes to the team due to impending luxury tax bills. Grousbeck said it’s restrictions on roster building as a second apron team that fill force Boston to make changes.
“Let me put a pin in that balloon too,” Grousbeck said when asked about the challenges of staying in the luxury tax in an interview with WEEI in Boston. “It’s not the luxury tax bill, it’s the basketball penalties. The new CBA was designed by the league to stop teams from going crazy.”
Grousbeck said ultimately the restrictions will cause Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to make changes to roster.
“The basketball penalties mean that it’s even more of a premium now to have your basketball general manager be brilliant and lucky,” Grousbeck said. “Because you have to navigate because you can’t stay in the second apron, nobody will, I predict, for the next 40 years of the CBA, no one is going to stay in the second apron more than two years.”
Despite all of that, Grousbeck expressed faith in Stevens and his staff to find ways to keep Boston in title contention.
“We have Brad Stevens, the reigning Executive of The Year, and thank god we do,” Grousbeck said. “He’s the one who really brought us this championship with his brilliant moves –along with many other people — but Brad is at the forefront. He’s looking at this and is going to extend our window and make it work. We’ll find out in June or July what we’re going to do.”