Danny Ainge Reportedly 'In Play' for Jazz After Dennis Lindsey's Role Change
Utah Jazz executive vice president Dennis Lindsey is stepping down from that position and moving into an advisory role with the organization, he announced on Sunday night.
Tony Jones of The Athletic reported that former Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge could be "in play" for the Jazz, "but if he comes into the front office, it won't be to lead the front office. Justin Zanik is the guy."
Ainge stepped down from his post with the Celtics this offseason after the team went a disappointing 36-36 and was eliminated from the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Earlier in June, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor said on The Ryen Russillo Podcast (6:30 mark) that Ainge would be interested in working for the Jazz or Portland Trail Blazers, though he added that "Utah won't hire him."
It seems unlikely that Ainge would join the Jazz in a role underneath Zanik after years of being the top shot-caller in Boston's front office. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Zanik "will continue to run day-to-day basketball operations as GM, which he's done since Lindsey's promotion to EVP in 2019."
Nonetheless, there is buzz connecting Ainge to Utah:
Ainge, 62, took over as Boston's executive director of basketball operations in 2003 and was promoted to president of basketball operations in 2008 following his acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and the team's championship in the 2007-08 season.
He also pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history in 2013, trading the aging Garnett and Paul Pierce, among others, to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal that netted Boston the Nets' first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 and first-round pick swap rights in 2017. That trade directly led to the Celtics picking Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, the two current building-blocks of the organization.
And he landed Kyrie Irving for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn's 2018 first-rounder in 2017, a deal that was heavily lopsided in Boston's favor (even if Irving's tenure in Boston was short-lived and dysfunctional).
But Ainge was also criticized later in his Celtics tenure for failing to pull the trigger on trades for superstar players that might have taken the Celtics over the top and won them another championship. And moves like signing Kemba Walker to essentially replace Irving didn't pay dividends and resulted in the Celtics giving up a 2021 first-round pick to ship off Walker's huge contract to the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason.
Nonetheless, Ainge may resurface with another NBA team this offseason. In totality, his resume is impressive. It remains to be seen if the Jazz will come calling, however.
