When news broke Monday that Celtics assistant general manager Austin Ainge was leaving for the Jazz, it raised some questions on the hierarchy within the organization. Austin’s father, Danny, is the CEO of Jazz basketball, plus there’s also Utah general manager Justin Zanik, who’s been with the team for six years.
Now, enter Austin Ainge as the Jazz’s president of basketball operations. At Ainge’s introductory news conference Monday, Jazz owner and governor Ryan Smith explained how the new hire would fit into the organization.
“For us, Austin will be running the program,” Smith said. “He’s got final recommendation to myself on any decisions that need to be made. I think it’s the job of Justin, Danny and myself to kind of plug into him. So hopefully that alleviates quite a few questions of who kind of has the final decision on roster and management and personnel.”
Ainge revealed that he was in a two-hour meeting with new Celtics ownership planning out the entire offseason when he got a text from Smith. That’s when Smith said he wanted to potentially have Ainge be part of the organization down the line. Ainge thought about it then gave Smith a call the next day.
“I kind of said that if we’re going to do this, now, I want to be a part of,” Ainge said. “These are big decisions coming up. If this is something we want to talk about, now feels like the right time.”
After making the hire, Smith had to call the elder Ainge, who was out of town, to tell him that he had just hired his son. Smith admitted he wasn’t sure how Danny Ainge would take the news as it shook up the organizational structure, “but well here we are.”
Austin Ainge, 43, had been with the C’s since 2011, going from director of player personnel all the way up to assistant general manager. Danny Ainge had been with the Celtics from 2003-21 when he stepped down as president of basketball operations in the summer of 2021. Danny Ainge has been with the Jazz as its CEO of basketball operations since December 2021.
The Celtics will have to adjust as they lost a significant member of the front office to the Jazz. That’s tough timing considering it’s an important offseason in Boston. C’s president Brad Stevens only had complimentary words for Austin Ainge in his statement that was released by the Jazz on Monday. Smith also praised Stevens for how he handled the Jazz poaching one of the Celtics’ front office members.
“I plan on including DA, Justin, Will (Hardy), lots of people here, everyone,” Ainge said. “This is a team sport. Both downstairs and upstairs. This is a team thing. Ryan will be involved in everything of course. We’re going to have millions of conversations and argue and fight and research and work and watch and then get in a room and figure it out. That’s how it works in all these organizations.”