Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

by **bobheckler** Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:23 pm

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/12/utah-jazz-hiring-danny-ainge-as-ceo-alternate-governor-after-brief-retirement.html

Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Updated: Dec. 15, 2021, 1:58 p.m. | Published: Dec. 15, 2021, 1:58 p.m.

By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com

Danny Ainge’s time away from basketball after retiring as Celtics president of basketball operations this summer will be very brief. A league source confirmed to MassLive.com that the Utah Jazz are hiring Ainge as alternate governor and CEO where he will oversee basketball. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com was first to report the move. Jazz current general manager Justin Zanik will remain in his current role.

Ainge retired as Celtics president of basketball operations abruptly back in June but never fully closed to the door on returning to the basketball world. In an interview last week with Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, Ainge spoke about the possibility of getting back into the game just six months after his retirement.

“I’m not closing the book on other opportunities but they’d have to be the right situation,” Ainge said. “I’d have to be working with the right people, in the right role. I don’t want to get back into 18-hour days. I don’t think that’s in anybody’s best interest, for that matter.

“I know how much work it takes to be good at the job. And, at the same time, I have 40 years of experience in the NBA. And I think I have a lot to offer some team that might see me as a helper to people in the organization. But, yeah, just depending on what the role is.”

Ainge had been with the Celtics since 2003 before stepping down in June from the role despite having multiple seasons left on his deal. He had been serving in an advisory role for the team over the summer once Brad Stevens was elevated to president of basketball operations.

Much more on this story as it develops…

Bob

Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
about 10 minutes ago
The term “alternate governor” implies Danny Ainge will hold an ownership stake in the Utah Jazz.

MY NOTE: IF this is true then congratulations are definitely in order. Ownership in an NBA franchise is a very small and exclusive club.

.

by **Matty** Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:23 pm

Brad's job number 1 moving forward- DO NOT TRADE WITH THE JAZZ!

by **dboss** Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:30 pm

So apparently Danny Boy was not really wanting to retire.

I guess he just knew his time in Boston had run its' course or maybe someone helped to convince him.

Let's hope Austin heads out there too. Brad should look to hire a great talent evaluator. Clean the whole godamn house and do not leave any dirt under the rugs.

by **gyso** Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:27 pm

Congratulations to Danny Ainge. Now he gets to work closer to friends and family, although he still has some family in New England.

No more 18 hour days and he still gets to be around the sport he has been evolved with for most of his life.

Go Danny!!!

by **dbrown4** Thu Dec 16, 2021 8:14 am

Congratulations, Danny!

Not sure what the Alternate Governor means but I'm guessing it is like a stock option where Danny would buy the team at a good discount to market value, company picks up the difference...i.e. it's there if you want it or can afford the hefty price tag. Either that or if the owner gets caught with his/her pants down, he's in.

Should be fun for ol' Danny. Going right to a contender in the thick of it as well. That certainly doesn't suck.

db

by **dbrown4** Thu Dec 16, 2021 9:53 am

As far as location, since he's Mormon, this will work perfectly as well.

This is one of those deals overall where you'd be an idiot to say no. Does Danny do his own negotiating for himself or does he have an agent as well? Either way, I'm impressed with this.

db

by **gyso** Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:07 am

dbrown,

I don't believe he will buy the entire team. He will just be a minor stockholder, so he'll have some skin in the game.

"Jazz owner Ryan Smith has had a longtime friendship with Ainge, who was a legendary player at BYU."

Who wouldn't want to work where you are considered to be a legend?

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-rumors-former-celtics-exec-185941484.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

by **RosalieTCeltics** Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:36 am

More power to him. I have nothing but good thoughts about Danny's time here in Boston,. He brought us a championship, he got us Jaylen and Jason. Were there missteps? Sure, but no one is perfect. He is in a perfect position, living near home, no 18 hour days, and a possible part ownership in an NBA team. Who could say no to this. He still has something to give to the game of basketball. More power to him.

I enjoyed his time here, thank him for all he gave the fans of Boston, why bother thinking about last year

by **bobheckler** Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:06 am

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/danny-ainge-opens-leaving-boston-234819673.html

Danny Ainge opens up about leaving Boston, joining Jazz

Justin Leger
Wed, December 15, 2021, 3:48 PM

Danny Ainge is ready to begin a new chapter in his NBA career.

The former Boston Celtics president of basketball operations officially joined the Utah Jazz front office on Wednesday as their alternate governor and CEO. He had spent the last few months away from the game after stepping down from his role with the C's and being replaced by Brad Stevens.

Ainge spoke about his new job with the Jazz shortly after the news was announced.

“I’ve taken six or seven months off, and I’ve gotten a good break,” Ainge said during a press conference Wednesday. “I feel like I’m energized and ready to come back and get back to work. This is a different role, a unique role, getting the opportunity to work with ownership and work with [head coach] Quin [Snyder] and [GM] Justin [Zanik] and what they’re doing. I’m anxious to get back and get to work.”

The 62-year-old, who also played eight seasons for the Celtics, simply needed a change of scenery.

“I needed a break from Boston,” Ainge said. “And by the way, my 26 years in Boston were an amazing experience. I’ll always be grateful. One of the greatest things I’ve learned in this business was the relationships you build. Championship rings are our goals, and that’s what you really build a bond when you are trying to work for a championship. But the things I really cherish over those 26 years are the relationships that I developed. Those will always be there."

As for whether a similar role would have been possible in Boston, Ainge says both sides decided it was time to go in a new direction.

“Right now, Boston has moved on; they have three capable people in Brad Stevens and Austin Ainge and Mike Zarren who could run the organization by themselves," he said. "Very capable people that have great experience in the business. I just thought the organization was in great hands moving forward.”

Ainge took to Twitter to express his excitement about starting anew with Utah.

Danny Ainge
@danielrainge
Excited for this next chapter with the Jazz! This is an amazing team with great leadership. Here we go! #TakeNote
3:36 PM · Dec 15, 2021

Ainge joins the Jazz front office at an ideal time as Utah currently sits in third place (19-7) in the Western Conference. While he won't have as much of a say in the team's roster construction, there's little doubt he'll have a significant influence on the franchise behind the scenes.

Bob
MY NOTE: Salt Lake City (BYU) or Portland (Eugene), Danny's a living legend in both places. He was burned out here, probably in a couple of ways. 18 hour days will kill you, as it almost killed him more than once, and he had also developed a rep for being a peer career killer. Just ask Billy King, formerly of the Nets. Bryan Colangelo had other issues that ended his tenure in Philly but he was already on thin ice because the Fultz-for-Tatum-and the pick that turned into Romeo deal made him look outclassed by Danny. GMs were legitimately afraid to trade with Danny and, while we enjoyed winning big on trades because of him, having teams being afraid to do business with us is not a good thing in general. Danny has said he is not going to be working those hours in this new job. If Danny's getting a piece of an NBA franchise, even a small piece, that's a big, big deal and one that would be very tough to turn down, especially if he doesn't have to kill himself to get it.

Remember how shitty we were when he was hired in 2003? Remember how many years we wandered aimlessly in the NBA desert until Danny showed up and promised we'd be relevant again in 5 years? Danny begat Doc, who begat Ubuntu, traded for Ray and KG, all of which begat #17 exactly 5 years later.

Brad's done a good job so far. Real tests are coming up this week, leading up to the trade deadline on 2/10 and this coming offseason and we'll see if he can continue to pull some more rabbits out of his hat. I've said numerous times before that perhaps the one indispensible person on the Celtics is Mike Zarren and he's still here. Austin Ainge is still here too (we'll see about him now that Dad's gone). We've got the Js thanks to Danny. All in all Danny left us in pretty good shape, both in drafting and in front office infrastructure.

.

by **bobheckler** Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:36 am

Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 2 hours ago
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich on notion Danny Ainge was forced out: “I was here for that entire sequence of events and he let everybody know he was stepping away and wanted to step away to have more time to spend with his family, rejuvenate, and figure out what’s next.”

Bob

.

by **gyso** Thu Dec 16, 2021 11:53 am

bobheckler wrote:Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 2 hours ago
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich on notion Danny Ainge was forced out: “I was here for that entire sequence of events and he let everybody know he was stepping away and wanted to step away to have more time to spend with his family, rejuvenate, and figure out what’s next.”

Bob

.

Fans will believe what they want to believe. I'll go with this.

Danny took a break, although he was reportedly still acting as a sounding board for the Celtics.

What's next is accepting an offer that nobody would refuse.

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Dec 16, 2021 12:05 pm

Good puts him in a better position to possibly do a McHale, helping our franchise just like McHale eventually did with the KG to Boston saga. Might not happen for awhile, but we know where his loyalty resides….

by **dbrown4** Thu Dec 16, 2021 12:07 pm

That's a very good point, cowens/oldschool.

db

by **NYCelt** Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:27 pm

Good for Danny, I'm sure he will help Utah take the next step up toward title contention.

The Alternate Governor Title was introduced in 2019. The NBA was looking for a different term than "owner," fearing it could be misconstrued (big word I used there, huh?) as racially insensitive in the NBA setting. Adam Silver actually introduced the concept, as I recall.

by **Ktron** Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:29 pm

gyso wrote:dbrown,

I don't believe he will buy the entire team. He will just be a minor stockholder, so he'll have some skin in the game.

"Jazz owner Ryan Smith has had a longtime friendship with Ainge, who was a legendary player at BYU."

Who wouldn't want to work where you are considered to be a legend?

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-rumors-former-celtics-exec-185941484.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

D Wade has a % of the team. NBA policy is that in order to become an owner or part owner you must have at least 1% skin in the game which right now equates to around $16 Million. This Group (SEG) is also involved and many facets of entertainment. Looks to me they picked the right dude. Danny Ray can spin with the best.

by **Ktron** Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:36 pm

bobheckler wrote:Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 2 hours ago
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich on notion Danny Ainge was forced out: “I was here for that entire sequence of events and he let everybody know he was stepping away and wanted to step away to have more time to spend with his family, rejuvenate, and figure out what’s next.”

Bob

.

. LOL. “Spend more time with my family”. I laugh every time I hear that from someone exiting. In this case I think it was more of a “Here’s your hat now what’s your hurry”.

by **Ktron** Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:38 pm

cowens/oldschool wrote:Good puts him in a better position to possibly do a McHale, helping our franchise just like McHale eventually did with the KG to Boston saga. Might not happen for awhile, but we know where his loyalty resides….

Ain’t happening.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Thu Dec 16, 2021 3:23 pm

Accept what is, move on. My feeling is, the pressure put on Danny over the last year or so by the press was overwhelming at times, sickening at others. I know it comes with the job, but as far as I am concerned he may be in Utah but he will always be a Celtic

by **BaronV** Fri Dec 17, 2021 11:11 am

Ktron wrote:
bobheckler wrote:Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 2 hours ago
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich on notion Danny Ainge was forced out: “I was here for that entire sequence of events and he let everybody know he was stepping away and wanted to step away to have more time to spend with his family, rejuvenate, and figure out what’s next.”

Bob

.
. LOL. “Spend more time with my family”. I laugh every time I hear that from someone exiting. In this case I think it was more of a “Here’s your hat now what’s your hurry”.

It's very true in a lot of cases, as is 'leaving to pursue other interests'. At some point, people in those types of positions have made more money than they'll ever need, and realize that there is something they'd rather be doing. For Danny, it seems like his (latest?) heart attack was his wake up call, and his realization that he didn't want to be found dead in a hotel room somewhere while continuing to be the team's GM. For me, I left a position as a Managing Director in a large consulting firm when my daughter was born. I had many colleagues who had kids they barely saw, and I swear they didn't know their names, what sports they played, or what foods they liked. I didn't want to be that guy, and left to start my own company. I don't make anywhere near as much money, but I can mostly work from home, make my own hours, pick the projects I want to work on, and be around to take my daughter to hockey games, pick her up from school, and hang out with her on the weekends. That's worth more to me than making a lot of money I don't have time to spend.

Sounds like Danny's new position is much lower stress, with less workload, in a market with much lower expectations. Makes sense as a 'coming out of retirement' gig as essentially an expert advisor to an owner he's been friends with for years. Kind of the equivalent of a retired corporate executive joining a Board. A chance to share your experience and make a difference without the day to day grind.

by **gyso** Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:05 pm

When Gordon Hayward signed in Boston, the Jazz fans contributed to climate change when they made great bonfires with his jersey. Danny Ainge was the architect of that free agent transaction.

I wonder what the fans now think about Danny?

by **Ktron** Fri Dec 17, 2021 1:41 pm

BaronV wrote:
Ktron wrote:
bobheckler wrote:Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 2 hours ago
Brad Stevens on @Toucherandrich on notion Danny Ainge was forced out: “I was here for that entire sequence of events and he let everybody know he was stepping away and wanted to step away to have more time to spend with his family, rejuvenate, and figure out what’s next.”

Bob

.
. LOL. “Spend more time with my family”. I laugh every time I hear that from someone exiting. In this case I think it was more of a “Here’s your hat now what’s your hurry”.

It's very true in a lot of cases, as is 'leaving to pursue other interests'. At some point, people in those types of positions have made more money than they'll ever need, and realize that there is something they'd rather be doing. For Danny, it seems like his (latest?) heart attack was his wake up call, and his realization that he didn't want to be found dead in a hotel room somewhere while continuing to be the team's GM. For me, I left a position as a Managing Director in a large consulting firm when my daughter was born. I had many colleagues who had kids they barely saw, and I swear they didn't know their names, what sports they played, or what foods they liked. I didn't want to be that guy, and left to start my own company. I don't make anywhere near as much money, but I can mostly work from home, make my own hours, pick the projects I want to work on, and be around to take my daughter to hockey games, pick her up from school, and hang out with her on the weekends. That's worth more to me than making a lot of money I don't have time to spend.

Sounds like Danny's new position is much lower stress, with less workload, in a market with much lower expectations. Makes sense as a 'coming out of retirement' gig as essentially an expert advisor to an owner he's been friends with for years. Kind of the equivalent of a retired corporate executive joining a Board. A chance to share your experience and make a difference without the day to day grind.

Absolutely. People leave their jobs sometimes for better jobs, less stressful jobs, to start their own businesses or to stop working completely. I agree.
However, in most cases that I’m familiar with, usually when people leave for those reasons above, they do so and very seldom use those “typical exit catch phrases” like “pursue other interests or spend more time with family. They just go and do it. Those canned exit phrases are usually cover ups for what really happened. I too have managed where upper management folks fired or laid off people and put out memo’s and emails with those typical cover up remarks. Laid off or terminated employees do the same.
I always felt that one either jumped or got pushed and in most cases it’s irrelevant because its all bulls88t anyway.

In the case of Danny. No I don't believe he was just outright fired but I do believe that it wasn’t totally his choice.
If being a president of a team along with part ownership is LESS stressful than God bless him.
I dont believe the cover line that he Wyc and Brad are spewing. I could be wrong but nothing thats been said proves otherwise.

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Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

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Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

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Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

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Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement

Re: Utah Jazz hiring Danny Ainge as CEO, alternate governor after brief retirement