Jazz hire former Celtics executive Austin Ainge as team president

The Utah Jazz hired Austin Ainge to be their president of basketball operations, the team announced Monday.

Ainge was previously the assistant general manager for the Boston Celtics. He's the son of the Jazz's CEO, Danny Ainge, who retired from his top-level role in Boston's front office in June 2021 and joined Utah six months later.

The younger Ainge's first role in the Celtics' front office was in 2011 when he was named director of player personnel following stints as a scout and a G League head coach. He was Boston's assistant GM for the last six seasons, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Shams Charania. The franchise won its 18th championship in 2024 after an unsuccessful Finals appearance in 2021.

Jazz governor Ryan Smith said the new hire will have final say on team decisions, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. He added that it was his call to pry Austin from the Celtics.

"It's go time for us: 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," Smith told Bontemps and Charania. "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 DA 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."

Like his dad, the younger Ainge played four college seasons at BYU from 2003 to 2007. He started in 53 of 101 total games for the Cougars, averaging 6.6 points, 3.5 assists, and shooting 40.2% from three while helping the school make the NCAA Tournament as a senior.