Celtics’ new owner: ‘We’re playing for championships and banners’

The Boston Celtics introduced their new ownership structure Tuesday, with majority owner and governor William Chisholm outlining his vision for the franchise alongside alternate governor Wyc Grousbeck.

Chisholm led the group that purchased the team from the Grousbeck family in a deal valued at $6.1 billion. He acknowledged the need to trim salary to avoid the second apron but said that won’t change the organization’s overall goals.

“We’re not playing for second; we’re playing for championships and banners,” Chisholm told The Boston Globe. “We’re playing for them in the near term, although we obviously had to do some things to get below the second apron. Bu t we’re also playing for them in the medium and long term.

“The second apron means you can’t do it by just throwing money at the problem. You have to do it with talent, you have to do it with leadership, and with Wyc and with (president of basketball operations Brad Stevens) and (president Rich Gotham) and (coach Joe Mazzulla), I feel like we have the best leaders in the league.”

Chisholm expressed optimism about the roster, pointing to Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard as leaders while noting that “real talent” remains untapped.

He also emphasized that Grousbeck remains a key partner, despite league rules preventing him from retaining governor status with an ownership stake below 15 percent.

“When it became clear the governor title was not going to be available because of technical reasons, because of math, Bill said, ‘Well, then we’re just not going to use that word around the office,’” Grousbeck said. “That says a lot about Bill, that he doesn’t care. He just wants to do the right thing for the team, and I feel the exact same way. We’re shoulder to shoulder.”

Both owners also addressed Joe Mazzulla’s multiyear extension, calling this year his toughest challenge as head coach.

“I’m really excited to see what he does in this kind of environment,” Chisholm said. “I think people will really appreciate what he’s all about. When he doesn’t have the loaded team, what can he do? And I think that’s going to be really interesting, and I have every confidence he’s going to crush it.”