Utah Jazz reportedly hire Celtics’ Austin Ainge as president of basketball operations
Ainge, the son of former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, will join his dad in Utah.
Celtics assistant general manager Austin Ainge is leaving to join the Utah Jazz as their president of basketball operations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Ainge, the son of former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, has spent the last six years as an assistant general manager with the Celtics. He has 17 years of experience in the Celtics’ front office.
“Ownership is awesome and it’s just kind of the next progression of my career,” Ainge told Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “Kind of done a lot in Boston and we’ve had a lot of success over the years, and the chance to run my own team is a big part of it. And the Jazz have a lot of potential, man. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of potential.”
The father and son, who both played college basketball at Brigham Young University before lengthy stints with the Celtics, are reuniting in Utah. After a brief retirement from the Celtics, the elder Ainge joined the Jazz as team CEO and an alternate governor of the franchise in 2021.
According to ESPN, the younger Ainge is expected to work with Justin Zanik, who is staying on as Utah’s general manager. The pair are expected to compliment each other in day-to-day front office operations.
“It’s go-time for us: [Head coach] Will [Hardy] is locked in long term and I’ve known Austin for a really long time, and he’s the next, young executive stud,” Jazz governor Ryan Smith told ESPN. “He wasn’t going to be available much longer. It’s good timing on all parts.
“As I look out into the future, there’s no one I would rather have run this organization than Austin. His pedigree, his knowledge and his talent evaluation shined through, working with [Danny Ainge] for so long and having the trust of Brad [Stevens] all of these years. Austin has the full capabilities to run our operations — he’s methodical, diligent and just brilliant.”
The Jazz had the worst record in the NBA last season at 17-65. Despite having a league-best (tied with Wizards and Hornets) 14 percent chance at the No. 1 overall pick, the Jazz fell all the way to No. 5 in the NBA lottery ahead of this month’s upcoming draft.
Dallas, which had a 1.8 chance of winning, snagged the No. 1 pick and reportedly plans to take Maine native Cooper Flagg.
Utah will be in rebuilding mode after finishing at the bottom of the Western Conference. With their coach under a new contract, the Jazz have decided to pair Austin and Danny Ainge in their front office as the Celtics did for many years.
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