If the Grousbeck family wants to sell the Celtics to someone with strong ties to Boston, they should consider... the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles?
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is "in the running" to buy the Celtics, according to The Ringer's Bill Simmons, and if you're wondering why, just take a quick look at Lurie's background.
Lurie was born in Boston and grew up an avid fan of all Boston sports, including the Celtics. He received all of his education in Massachusetts, from an undergraduate degree at Clark University to a master's degree in psychology at Boston University to a doctorate in social policy at Brandeis.
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A 2018 feature on Lurie in Clark's alumni magazine revealed just how passionate Lurie was about his Boston teams, particularly the Celtics:
The Boston native was fervent about his hometown sports teams to the point where he would sleep overnight outside of Boston Garden to snag tickets for obstructed-view seats to Bruins games. When the Celtics reached the playoffs, he and his Clark buddies camped outside the Ticketron office in the parking lot of the Auburn Mall to be the first in line for tickets. βI got to know the lady in charge there,β he recalls. βShe was very helpful.β
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Lurie also was a die-hard New England Patriots fan, and his family held season tickets since the franchise's inception in 1960. In fact, Lurie actually bid to purchase the Patriots from previous owner James Orthwein in 1993 but dropped out of the running when the price tag reached $150 million, per Forbes.
Robert Kraft -- himself a Boston-area native and Patriots season ticket holder -- eventually purchased the team for $172 million in January 1994, while Lurie set his sights on another NFL franchise, buying the Eagles for $185 million in May 1994.
Lurie has owned the Eagles ever since but sold an eight percent stake in the franchise in December and has been prepping his son Julian to eventually take over ownership, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Reuben Frank. Perhaps that transition would allow the 73-year-old Lurie to turn his attention toward a team he's cited in the past as a model for success.
"Iβve always thought that the sports franchises that make decisions based on what they think is right, itβs never going to be the popular one in that case,β Lurie said when the Eagles last reached the Super Bowl in January 2023. βI go back to (late Celtics head coach/team president) Red Auerbach, because to me, he made a lot of decisions that were not the popular decisions in the headlines the next day in The Boston Globe but it was best for that franchise to continue their dynasty.
βWhether it was having Bill Russell be the player coach, the first African-American coach ever. Choosing point guard Bob Cousy. Red did things that were unpopular. The (Kevin) McHale trade, getting McHale to go with Larry (Bird), waiting on Larry. There were just so many pointers when I look back on the way he ran that team."
Boston Basketball Partners, LLC announced its intention to sell the Celtics last July, with a plan to sell 51 percent of the franchise now and the remaining 49 percent in 2028. The Grousbeck family expects at least four first-round bids to purchase the franchise and expects the price to exceed $6 million, per The Boston Globe.
Current Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca is expected to be among the bidders, but Lurie would be a fascinating contender as well given his deep ties to the region.