The John-Henry led group, which also owns the Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins in other sporting properties, was never seriously believed to be in the mix to buy the Celtics. On Monday, a story on NBC Sports’ Basketball Talk page characterized FSG as a group “expected to make a bid,” fueling rampant social media speculation. But nothing has changed since  on the idea in September.

“That’s not on our radar right now,” Kennedy said on September 30.

FSG, which also owns NASCAR’s RFK Racing and TGL’s Boston Common Golf — and made a massive investment in the golf world in partnership with the PGA Tour earlier this year — has long had plans to expand its portfolio into other sports. The group has not yet had ownership in an NBA franchise but has LeBron James among its investors and is believed to want to get into basketball next.

Industry speculation is that FSG, with James in tow, has its eye on owning an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas down the road. James, who just turned 40, has long been linked to that possibility as a post-playing career option.

reported Monday that the Celtics expect four or five formal bids by Thursday, but FSG was not named in the report. The Grousbeck family expects the ultimate price to exceed $6 billion in the sale. A group led by current Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca is in the mix. It’s unclear who else is involved.

The Grousbeck family announced in July that they intended to sell the control of the franchise. In what they mapped out as a two-part process, 51 percent of the sale will take place during the 2024-25 season while the remainder of the sale is completed in 2028. Team governor Wyc Grousbeck also stated his hope is to remain in his current role until the full sale is completed in 2028.

The Celtics current ownership group led by the Grousbeck family purchased the team for $360 million in 2002.