The Utah Jazz are hiring Danny Ainge to oversee basketball operations, naming him alternate governor and CEO of Jazz Basketball, sources told ESPN.
Ainge will work closely with Jazz general manager Justin Zanik, who runs the teams’ day-to-day operations, sources said.
A formal announcement is expected Wednesday.
Ainge stepped down as the Boston Celtics‘ president of basketball operations in June and now returns to the NBA with his longtime friend, new Jazz owner Ryan Smith. Ainge is a popular figure in Salt Lake City, nearby where he was a college basketball All-American at Brigham Young University.
Ainge spent 18 years as the Celtics’ top basketball executive, winning the 2008 NBA title and reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, 2018 and 2020. Ainge was the NBA’s executive of the year in 2008.
Ainge replaces Dennis Lindsey, who moved into a consultant’s role this summer after building the franchise into a Western Conference championship contender. Lindsey drafted All-Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell and hired coach Quin Snyder.
