Danny Ainge shared Wednesday after joining the front office of the Utah Jazz that his juices are flowing, and his excitement after six-plus months off is fully ramped up.
Ainge spoke to the media after he was hired as Utah’s CEO and alternate governor on Wednesday. He previously worked as the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics before resigning from the position in June. He gets back into the NBA just 26 games in the 2021 season.
Ainge, 62, certainly made it seem like his reasons for choosing the Jazz were multifold.
He explained how owner Ryan Smith, general manager Justin Zanik and head coach Quin Snyder sold him with their energy and enthusiasm.
“I feel like Justin and I are excited to work together,” Ainge said, per CLNS Media.
Ainge added, however, that his role will be different than it was with the Celtics. He didn’t want the same position.
“It’s a different role as governor, of course. But I’m not going to be the president of basketball operations. I’m not going to be the guy that’s running day-to-day. That’s going to be Justin. We’ll have an opportunity to communicate with him and share the experiences that I’ve had.”
Ainge also seems to be looking forward to the on-court product. The Jazz currently are third in the Western Conference behind only the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns. They’ve won 19 of their 26 games to start the season behind the league’s best offensive rating and fifth-best defensive rating.
Donovan Mitchell, 25, is among Utah’s stars as he leads the team in scoring with 26.4 points per game.
“The roster is strong. It’s a really good team,” Ainge said. “I’m not sure what needs to be done, but we’ll look with Justin’s team, and with Quin, and figure out what we need. But it’s a dang good team.”
Ainge expressed how he “needed a break” from Boston, but did have positive things to say about his time with the organization. Ainge essentially made it sound like he wanted to get out of the president of basketball operations role where he was working 18-hour days, and the Celtics have moved on. He said the itch to get back into the NBA came within the last few weeks.
The Celtics, for what it’s worth, will host the Jazz on March 23.
