‘Lot of interest’ in C’s sale; owner plans ’28 exit

WASHINGTON — Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, whose family is in the middle of selling its controlling stake in the franchise, said Thursday that not only does he continue to plan to run the team for the next three years, but he believes it could repeat as champions this season.

“It’s underway. There’s a lot of interest,” Grousbeck said of the sale on a conference call with reporters after a ceremony with President Joe Biden on the White House’s South Lawn to celebrate the team’s record-setting 18th NBA championship. “That is one comment, I guess. I would like to limit it to that, but I would say that the plan is that I will stay [in charge] for three more years. That’s what’s laid out. We’ll go from there.

“Having said that, I think I’d just rather talk about this team that we have in front of us, with us right now, that has the capacity to contend again. I think we’re contenders this year, and we can be contenders in the future, and that’s what I’m most excited about.”

Grousbeck, who was making his second trip to the White House as an NBA champion, has been in charge of the Celtics since 2002.

In June, days after Boston won the title, the Celtics’ ownership group — Boston Basketball Partners, L.L.C. — stunned the basketball world by announcing it would be selling the controlling stake in the franchise after more than two decades of stable ownership of one of the most iconic franchises in North American sports.

In that announcement, the ownership group said it expects to sell a majority interest in 2024 or early 2025, with the balance closing in 2028. It also said it expected Grousbeck “to remain as the Governor of the team until the second closing in 2028.”

Boston is favored to repeat as NBA champions, and the Celtics will enter Friday’s game here against the Wizards with a 12-3 record — second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-1).

But while Grousbeck made it clear he hopes to have more opportunities to celebrate championships with this group, he admitted Thursday was a special day. The celebration outside the White House featured hundreds of celebrants with ties to Massachusetts, including Gov. Maura Healey and Senator Ed Markey.

“This was a very exciting and moving day,” Grousbeck said. “We had not been focused on [coming here]. We got through raising the banner, and opening night, and then it was all business, led by [Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla].

“Joe doesn’t really want us to dwell too much on the past. He wants us to move forward. But, having said that, everybody here — including Joe — really seemed to have a great time.”

That included guard Derrick White, part of a roster full of players — outside of Jrue Holiday — who hadn’t experienced winning an NBA title before doing so with the Celtics.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” White said. “I was kind of looking forward to it, and then I think, walking in, I was like, ‘I’m a little bit more excited than I thought I was going to be.’

“I think it was just a lot of excitement just to be in the White House, and just all the decisions and stuff that goes on in there. We were able to go into the Oval Office, which was pretty cool. So being where all the big decisions are was the coolest part.”

Among those excited to have the Celtics visiting was President Biden, who began his remarks by saying that his Secret Service name actually is “Celtic.”

“I take special pride in this trophy,” a smiling Biden said about the team’s title.

Then, referring to Mazzulla becoming the youngest coach to win an NBA title since Bill Russell with the Celtics in the 1960s, Biden made a joke about his own turn from being one of the youngest people ever elected as a U.S. Senator to being the oldest president.

He eventually received a Celtics jersey from Jayson Tatum.

“Joe Biden was the youngest, and now he’s the oldest,” Biden said. “I liked being the youngest better.”