Jazz hire Celtics' Austin Ainge as president of basketball ops - ESPN

The Utah Jazz have hired Austin Ainge away from the Boston Celtics as the team's president of basketball operations, it was announced Monday.

Utah's current general manager, Justin Zanik, will remain in his role after Ainge's arrival, sources told ESPN, and the two will work together moving forward.

«We're absolutely thrilled to welcome Austin Ainge as our new president of basketball operations,» team governor Ryan Smith said in a statement. «Austin is one of the brightest minds in the NBA — his 17 years with the Celtics have given him incredible insight into every part of an organization.

»… I've watched him grow into an accomplished, innovative and strategic basketball executive who's ready to lead this organization."

It's the second big move Utah has made off the court in the past several weeks, after the Jazz locked up coach Will Hardy to a long-term contract extension last month that runs through 2031.

Ainge, 43, has been with the Celtics since 2009, when he was hired to be the coach of their G League affiliate. Two years later, he moved into a front office role and has remained with Boston for the past 14 seasons, including the past six as an assistant general manager.

«This is an incredible opportunity,» Ainge said in a statement. «I couldn't be more excited about the bright future of this organization.… I have lived this my whole life, constantly studying teams, talent, chemistry and the selflessness necessary to win. I look forward to bringing that to Utah and am excited to give Jazz fans a lot to cheer about as we build our program back up.»

Ainge worked under his father, Danny, for over a decade in Boston, and will now reunite with him in Utah after the latter — who left the Celtics in the summer of 2021 — was