New Celtics Owner Has Bold Prediction for Upcoming Season

Apr 4, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bill Chisholm, who leads a group that is buying the Boston Celtics looks on past Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla during the second half of their game against the Phoenix Suns at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

New Boston Celtics controlling owner Bill Chisholm has an optimistic outlook on the club's 2025-26 season.

The Massachusetts native managing partner and chief investment officer for the private equity firm STG Partners, LLC bought the team from the Grousbeck family at a then-record $6.1 billion valuation.

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Per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Chisholm believes that the club's greatly reconfigured roster could be a sneaky player in the fairly open Eastern Conference.

Adam Himmelsbach: The Celtics are projected to win about 42 games this season and are not considered championship contenders. Still, incoming lead governor Bill Chisholm remains upbeat. https://t.co/1hC6GCyfgt

— Boston Globe Rhode Island (@Globe_RI) September 11, 2025

“I think they’re going to surprise some people,” Chisholm said. “I think this is a good team and I think we have a really good coach and a really good president of basketball operations. I think Payton Pritchard said it in an interview, that we’re going to surprise some people, and I think there’s real talent here that hasn’t been fully realized.”

Major Summer Celtics Turnover

Once six-time Celtics All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon during the second round of the playoffs against the New York Knicks, it became clear that the club's 2024 championship core was doomed to be broken up this summer.

And sure enough, that's exactly what team president Brad Stevens did, opting to trade away starting center Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and starting All-Defensive Team guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers. He let free agent reserve center Luke Kornet sign a three-year, $41 million deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

Free agent power forward/center Al Horford remains available, but it seems that Stevens is expecting Horford to depart. He has been frequently linked to the Golden State Warriors.

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Stevens brought in several free agents on minimum deals to flesh out his depth. Former Toronto Raptors power forward/center Chris Boucher and a pair of former Minnesota Timberwolves, center Luka Garza and Josh Minott, all agreed to such contracts.

The Celtics also brought back Anfernee Simons in their Holiday trade and two-way rookie RJ Luis Jr. Luis was acquired by Boston when the Celtics flipped its trade haul from the Porzingis deal, forward Georges Niang and a second-round pick, to the Utah Jazz — along with another second-rounder.

Boston also brought in former Real Madrid wing Hugo Gonzalez with its No. 28 pick at the end of the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, while also selecting new two-way players Amari Williams and Max Shulga in the second round.

Still, the Celtics' new 2025-26 core of four-time All-Star wing Jaylen Brown, two-time All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White, and reigning Sixth Man of the Year represent a solid trio, while head coach Joe Mazzulla is known to be a relentless, win-at-all-costs perfectionist.

With these new additions and returning chips like sharpshooter Sam Hauser, former fourth-string center Neemias Queta, and wings Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman, Boston could prove at least a frisky playoff out against presumed big dogs the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

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