When the Utah Jazz announced Tuesday morning that they had hired Austin Ainge as president of basketball operations, three questions immediately came to mind: Who is in charge? Is this nepotism at play? And, where does this leave general manager Justin Zanik?
The Utah Jazz hierarchy
The last time the Utah Jazz hired an Ainge, it caused quite a bit of confusion regarding how the internal hierarchy of the franchise would operate.
When Danny Ainge was hired as the CEO of Jazz basketball — an uncommon title in the basketball world — in December 2021, it wasn’t clear who would have final say on personnel decisions. Justin Zanik was the general manager, but there was no one in the more traditional role of president of basketball operations.
Jazz owner Ryan Smith swore that Ainge and Zanik would be working collaboratively, much to the disbelief of the basketball world. But, by all accounts from those involved in and around the Jazz front office, decisions have been made mostly by committee or with Ainge taking lead on certain matters and Zanik taking the lead on others.
But with the Jazz’s latest hire, Smith wasted absolutely no time making things crystal clear.
Austin Ainge, right, president of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz, speaks during an introductory media availability with Utah Jazz Governor Ryan Smith at Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City on Monday, June 2, 2025.| Tess Crowley, Deseret News
“I’m sure there’s probably a lot of questions around organizational structure and design, and I’ve learned in business and also in the NBA, that every organization is set up a little different,” Smith said as he introduced Ainge to local media. “For us, Austin will be running the program. He’s got final recommendation to myself on any decisions that need to be made.
“I think it’s the job of both Justin, Danny and myself to kind of plug into him. So hopefully that alleviates quite a few questions as to who has the final decision on roster and management and personnel.”
And as if that wasn’t enough, Smith punctuated the point later on, saying, “This is Austin’s show.”
The younger Ainge
So that’s one question cleared up. What about the fact that Austin is the son of the elder Ainge, who is the CEO of basketball?
Smith said that he has coveted the younger Ainge for a while and when he saw last summer Ainge’s name was swirling around when there were front office vacancies around the league, he felt sick for not reaching out sooner.
So, recently, after a conversation with his wife Ashley, Smith spoke with Ainge and told him that he wanted him to be president of basketball operations. Ainge called Smith back the next day and said that if he was going to make the move, that he wanted it to be now. He wanted to be a part of the big decisions that were coming for the Jazz in the rebuild.
It all came together really fast.
“The biggest challenge for me was I had to call Danny, who was not in town, and say, ‘I hired your son,’” Smith said. “Danny and I built a lot of trust over the last 15 years, and I didn’t know at that point whether I completely lost all trust or he was going to say that it was the right move. Well, here we are, and so I couldn’t be more excited.”
Certainly Ainge had a leg up in his becoming the Celtics first G League affiliate coach back in 2009 when he was head coach of the then Maine Red Claws. But he’s spent the last 16 years climbing his way up through the NBA ranks and has spent the last six years as assistant general manager for the Boston Celtics.
Austin Ainge, president of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz, speaks during an introductory media availability at Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City on Monday, June 2, 2025.| Tess Crowley, Deseret News
He’s made a name for himself as a dedicated talent evaluator and is every bit qualified for his current position. And, if we are to believe Smith, the elder Ainge wasn’t even aware that this move was being made until after it had been done.
What does this mean for Justin Zanik?
The Jazz’s general manager remains the general manager and Smith said that the hire of Ainge is not going to change Zanik’s role — except for the fact that Zanik now reports to Ainge.
The optics are a little strange considering Zanik has been general manager of the Jazz for the last six years and was never promoted to president of basketball operations and instead is now answering to someone whose previous highest position was assistant GM.
But, if there are any hard feelings or tensions about this hire, Zanik won’t be the one to show them. He has publicly and privately been noted that he enjoys the collaborative way the Jazz make decisions and welcomes input from all sides. He also has been appreciative of the way the Smiths have handled ownership of the team.
For now, things will operate as they had, but with a new leader at the head of the team.
“We have a ton of optionality, a lot of future picks, a lot of things we can do,” Austin Ainge said. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but I can’t wait to get started.”
Austin Ainge, president of basketball operations for the Utah Jazz, speaks during an introductory media availability at Zions Bank Basketball Campus in Salt Lake City on Monday, June 2, 2025.| Tess Crowley, Deseret News