ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has reported that the Utah Jazz is hiring Danny Ainge both an alternate governor and CEO. This comes a few months after Ainge stepped down from his job as the general manager of the Boston Celtics, which he hard for nearly 20 years.
In his Celtics tenure, Ainge was known for many league-breaking trades. In 2007, he made the moves to build the Celtics big three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett, which won a championship. He also traded both Pierce and Garnett in 2013 to the Nets for a haul of future draft picks, with who the Celtics have built their current core. He also traded for Kyrie Irving, who helped the Celtics make title runs across the late 2010s.
However, he left the Celtics in June 2021, naming the then coach Brad Stevens as the President of Basketball Operations.
Wojnarowski also tweeted the following about Jazz’s new front office member:
“Jazz owner Ryan Smith has had a longtime friendship with Ainge, who was a legendary player at BYU. Ainge stepped down as Celtics GM after last season but now returns with the Jazz to oversee basketball operations and work closely with GM Justin Zanik.”
Ainge’s official title is Alternate Governor and CEO of Jazz Basketball.