Utah Jazz Hire Celtics Austin Ainge As President of Basketball Operations

Austin Ainge, longtime Boston Celtics assistant general manager, has left the team to become the Utah Jazz's president of basketball operations, reuniting with his father Danny Ainge, who serves as the Jazz CEO. Austin has spent the past 17 years with the Celtics organization in various roles, including assistant GM, director of scouting, and G League head coach, helping build a championship-caliber team. The Utah Jazz, coming off a 17-65 season and in the midst of a rebuild, view Austin's hiring as a key move to accelerate their competitiveness, with owner Ryan Smith praising Austin as one of the brightest minds in the NBA. Austin expressed enthusiasm about leading Utah's basketball operations and leveraging his experience to build the program, while the Celtics face a challenging offseason with potential roster changes and no immediate plan to replace him. This marks the first time since before 2003 that the Celtics front office will operate without an Ainge, highlighting a significant organizational transition. The move continues a trend of Celtics executives joining the Jazz, including head coach Will Hardy and CEO Danny Ainge himself, emphasizing the growing Utah-Boston basketball connection.