The Jazz have hired veteran Celtics executive Austin Ainge as their president of basketball operations, the team announced today in a press release. Tim Bontemps and Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) first reported the news.
Ainge has spent 17 years with the Celtics, including the last 14 in the front office. He was initially hired as a scout, then spent a couple seasons coaching Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine from 2009-11 before transitioning to a front office position. He served as the club’s director of player personnel and scouting until 2019 and has been an assistant general manager for the past six years.
Ainge has played a significant role in the Celtics’ scouting and pre-draft process over the past decade-plus. The Jazz’s announcement today notes that he “helped to identify” the draft selections of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome Austin Ainge as our new president of basketball operations,” Jazz owner and governor Ryan Smith said in a statement. “Austin is one of the brightest minds in the NBA—his 17 years with the Celtics have given him incredible insight into every part of an organization. I’ve known Austin for 15 years, and I’ve watched him grow into an accomplished, innovative, and strategic basketball executive who’s ready to lead this organization.”
Obviously, beyond his relationship with Smith, Ainge has a strong connection to the front office in Utah, where his father Danny Ainge has been the franchise’s CEO and alternate governor since 2021. The elder Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik have collaborated on roster decisions in recent years, with Zanik focused on day-to-day operations in his GM role.
A president of basketball operations title suggests that Austin will be above Zanik and below his father in Utah’s front office hierarchy. The Jazz’s press release implies they’re simply adding the newest hire to the current group rather than the move being part of a larger restructuring of the front office.
“Austin is experienced, forward-thinking, and laser-focused on building a championship-caliber program,” Smith said. “He has been instrumental in every aspect of building great teams – from scouting the best players to constructing a winning roster.
“In this new role leading the Jazz front office, Austin’s ability to identify great talent, scout, and partner with Danny, Justin, and (head coach) Will (Hardy) and the rest of the front office team will be key. Hiring Austin couldn’t be coming at a better time as we build up as an organization towards our ultimate goal of championship-level basketball.”
Congrats, nepo baby!
This guy never really had a real job, but credit to him and Ainge family. All along he was with Celtics with Ainge at the helm, and then Ainge annoints Stevens to take good care of his kiddo. It’s so easy for these guys…. Yes, they do a good job of grooming their kids, and they try to keep it all in their family. Steve Kerr trying to do the same with Nick.
Yeah, I guess it’s not the individuals to be blamed. But the system isn’t as easy to mock.
What? There’s no way Steve Kerr’s son is named Nick lmao
My theory is that these kids are actually big-time screw-ups, and that their fathers (Kerr and Ainge) saved them. The kids weren’t going to succeed at anything in line without the parents.
Every parent wants their kid to make it on their own. Nick Kerr and Austin Ainge should have worked for other teams than their dad’s if they wanted to be taken seriously.
Nepotism + White privilege = Austin Ainge having any type of impact on the basketball world
Bringo!
Thomas Sankara hasn’t been relevant since he was assassinated in the 1980s
Celtics mountain west
lol the Jazz fan Ainge haters will love this!!
Maybe one of the reasons he’s taking this is because dad told him he’ll probably retire in the next couple of years and he can fall right into the CEO spot?
Austin has been an instrumental part and played a “significant role” in the group that got two top 3 pics right.
Now that’s a pretty hefty accomplishment.
So when his dad polled the executives in the room, “all in favor of drafting Jaylen Brown say, aye,” he was part of the group that said, aye? Major accomplishment !!
17 years and two championships? Major accomplishment !! He deserves a lot of credit.
No problem riding the coattails of family, but life is short. I’d want to carve out my own niche and go to work for another team. And even then the nepotism label would cry out.
But at least that would be something of going out on his own. Proving to himself and others his great skills.
But not everyone has that as a goal. Go ahead, take the cushi job, nice salary and be the backpack. No problem at all, it’s nice work if you can get it.
While I agree that nailing a couple top-three picks isn’t a major accomplishment in and of itself, the fact that the Celtics traded down from No. 1 (in a draft with a consensus top pick) and ended up with the best player in that draft and a perennial first-team All-NBA player is worthy of kudos. That basically never happens.
Ooops !! I hope that in your replying to me that you weren’t taking my comment as a dig on you?
Luke, you know I love you. I’d never even think of doing that.
I’m more thinking this is the jazz mindset and the jazz giving Austin the kudos and the lofty position within the new organization.
I’m claiming huge nepotism with this hire, and though he could possibly deserve this promotion, I’m going to be all over it because of Austin’s lack of wanting to establish his own identity with a brand new team away from his father.
Reading what I wrote it sure looks like I’m quoting you, Luke, but the last thing I want to do is be critical of any of your assertions. No way, bro.
Love you brother !! You know I’m the biggest fan ever of this website. It’s my number one go to spot for all things Hoops and baseball news. Don’t ever change a thing !!
@GaryRedSoxxWarriors All good, Gary, appreciate the support. I don’t disagree with you about Ainge and am skeptical of this move myself. I just think there’s some revisionist history happening with the Brown/Tatum picks, which weren’t as obvious at the time as some people consider them to be now — ESPN’s last 2016 big board, for example, ranked Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray, Marquese Chriss, and Dragan Bender ahead of Brown, and I recall Josh Jackson being ranked ahead of Tatum on many boards in 2017.
Pro-Austin Ainge is sadly a pretty perfect way to describe the vibe of this website
Sankara that’s a low blow. Luke was passing on a report. If he did think Austin Ainge was a loser, we wouldn’t know.
I have no idea about Austin Ainge’s qualifications, but he better be ready to take some heavy fire.
It’s year 4 of a disappointing rebuild under his father, and the deck is stacked against him in the short-term.
— natives are getting restless
— Jazz will be projected to finish last in West this year
— cupboard looks bare (recent picks disappointing)
— in a cruel twist of fate, OKC owns their 2026 first round pick (protected)
At some point, things have to turn for the better. But it won’t be this year.
Nothing against the guy but the Jazz statement saying he “helped to identify” Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown is a silly attempt to build him up. Tatum, especially, was understood by anyone who follows college basketball to be an elite prospect and most of us would have taken him instead of Markelle Fultz with the 1st pick in that draft.
Hindsight really coming into play here. I’m sure nearly everyone would make that claim now but at the time Fultz had the edge as the top prospect. Tatum had question marks like most the top picks. Hence why he was taken 3rd not 1st or 2nd. I challenge anyone’s opinion on these prospects after the fact because there were no can’t miss guys in this draft at the time.
The point is that Tatum was not some unknown who needed to be “identified”. I was specifically pointing out the absurdity of that resume padding PR statement.
Everyone also knew Philly would take Fultz and the Lakers would take Ball. This was not hidden from the public.
The only real question was what was Philly going to trade Boston for the right to draft Fultz, bc Magic I believe had said the Lakers would take Fultz if he was available.
The weird thing about that draft is that Tatum was not the most publicized player in that draft. It was Fultz and Ball bc of Balls dad was running it about how the Lakers would be stupid not to draft his kid. Remember, Lonzo Balls dad? The Ball shoe fiasco?
All the same time period.
Yes, and the fact that Danny could get Tatum plus another pick for Fultz is incredible.
I guess if you’ve floated enough stuff out there, you’re gonna find GM‘s interested in certain guys because of their raw athleticism.
That was definitely the attraction of Markelle Fultz.., Incredible off the charts athleticism.
Not really. Philly wanted his shooting to pair with Ben Simmons and Embiid. When Fultz came out, it was his shooting that attracted teams to him. He was a knock down shooter in college.
I know the irony, but as I remember, Boston had Fultz work out first and it was almost immediate they were shopping the pick. Boston I believe told Tatum he was there guy regardless of what happened, meaning if Boston had to stay at 1, Tatum would be that pick.
Fultz was one of the dumb things Philly did to create this 3 man super team they have coveted for years.
OK wow interesting. So crazy that his shooting fell off. But you know what they say, it’s really all mental with the shot.
His shoulder injury or whatever it was, I can’t remember, probably had a lot to do with it, but even after recovery, he couldn’t get his shooting back on track.
Tatum was essentially the first pick in the Draft.
Boston knew Philly would take Fultz and the Lakers were taking Ball. IF either team had not shown their interests in other players, the Celtics would have kept the 1st pick.
Everyone who was alive and paid attention to that draft knew the Celtics were taking Tatum regardless. Philly was nice enough to pay them to take the best player in the draft. I know that pick turned out to be Grant Williams, but still.
Nepotism is undefeated!
How many executives does it take to strategize a tanking job??
> How many executives does it take to strategize a
> tanking job??
The definition of “poetic justice”: the Jazz’s tanking situation this season.
It’s never made more sense for an NBA team to tank —they desperately need a future star and they don’t have a prayer of the playoffs in the West… but, OKC, of all teams (!) has the top 6 protected rights to the Jazz first round pick.
The better the Jazz do the better the chances OKC takes their pick. BUT, if the Jazz finish worst in the league, there remains a 40% chance OKC gets their pick!
Austin Ainge has 17 years experience working for a NBA team. So he’s credentialed no matter who his dad is. I’d guess few others have such experience as there are not many jobs in this field.