Celtics sale predicted to exceed $6 billion after first round of bids: Reports

The Boston Celtics franchise is reportedly for sale and is expected to be valued at $6 billion. The current owner of the franchise, Wyc Grousbeck, announced that he intends to sell his majority ownership stake after Boston won their record-setting 18th NBA championship. This comes as a shocker to many considering how successful the franchise has been in recent memory.

However, it seems that Grousbeck is ready to move on and will sell 51% of his ownership stake this year. According to multiple reports, the first round of bids will conclude this coming Jan. 23. The highest bid is expected to go all the way up to $6 billion or higher. It'll be a huge profit for Grousbeck, especially considering how he bought the Celtics franchise in 2002 for $360 million.

According to the Boston Globe, atleast four parties are expected to bid for the Boston Celtics franchise. One group is reportedly being led by Boston's co-owner Steve Pagliuca. As for the remaining three groups, their identities are yet to be revealed. Once the first transaction is secured, Wyc Grousbeck will then sell the remaining 49% ownership stake come 2028.

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Kristaps Porzingis's harsh words for Celtics

NBA: Boston at Oklahoma City - Source: Imagn

While the Boston Celtics may be the defending champions this season, it seems Kristaps Porzingis doesn't feel like his team is acting like one. Boston is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 29-12 record. They are 5.5 games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and have win only nine out of the last 17 games since beating the Detroit Pistons last Dec. 12.

Fast forward to January, it appears that Porzingis has had enough of the Celtics' lackluster performances and expressed his thoughts in an interview. Boston took on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday wherein they found themselves on the receiving end of a 110-97 loss. It was an embarrassing moment for the defending champions, especially since they lost to one of the worst teams in the NBA this year.

Kristaps Porzingis didn't mince his words and bluntly described how his team has been performing as of late.

"There’s just no spirit, no personality," Porzingis said after losing to Toronto. "I think we played with no spirit, with no personality. It’s just a weak performance from us, honestly. We just play with no personality right now. We just individually have to look at ourselves like, where we can improve, what we need to do better, are we fit? Are we feeling good? Are we locked in mentally? And then try to fix some of the stuff that we have going on.”

Porzingis is usually one of the most enthusiastic and upbeat players on the Celtics roster. Given his dissatisfaction with his team as of late is a clear indication that Boston needs to step up their game.