The Jazz have employed veteran Celtics government Austin Ainge as their president of basketball operations, the crew introduced right now in a press launch. Tim Bontemps and Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter hyperlink) first reported the information.
Ainge has spent 17 years with the Celtics, together with the final 14 within the entrance workplace. He was initially employed as a scout, then spent a pair seasons teaching Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine from 2009-11 earlier than transitioning to a entrance workplace place. He served because the membership’s director of participant personnel and scouting till 2019 and has been an assistant normal supervisor for the previous six years.
Ainge has performed a big position within the Celtics’ scouting and pre-draft course of over the previous decade-plus. The Jazz’s announcement right now notes that he “helped to determine” the draft choices of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
“We’re completely thrilled to welcome Austin Ainge as our new president of basketball operations,” Jazz proprietor and governor Ryan Smith mentioned in an announcement. “Austin is without doubt one of the brightest minds within the NBA—his 17 years with the Celtics have given him unimaginable perception into each a part of a company. I’ve recognized Austin for 15 years, and I’ve watched him develop into an achieved, progressive, and strategic basketball government who’s prepared to steer this group.”
Clearly, past his relationship with Smith, Ainge has a powerful connection to the entrance workplace in Utah, the place his father Danny Ainge has been the franchise’s CEO and alternate governor since 2021. The elder Ainge and normal supervisor Justin Zanik have collaborated on roster choices lately, with Zanik centered on day-to-day operations in his GM position.
A president of basketball operations title means that Austin will probably be above Zanik and under his father in Utah’s entrance workplace hierarchy. The Jazz’s press launch implies they’re merely including the most recent rent to the present group relatively than the transfer being half of a bigger restructuring of the entrance workplace.
“Austin is skilled, forward-thinking, and laser-focused on constructing a championship-caliber program,” Smith mentioned. “He has been instrumental in each side of constructing nice groups – from scouting the perfect gamers to setting up a profitable roster.
“On this new position main the Jazz entrance workplace, Austin’s potential to determine nice expertise, scout, and accomplice with Danny, Justin, and (head coach) Will (Hardy) and the remainder of the entrance workplace crew will probably be key. Hiring Austin couldn’t be coming at a greater time as we construct up as a company in the direction of our final objective of championship-level basketball.”
