Tag: danny ainge

Danny Ainge named CEO of Utah Jazz

Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), the operating company which owns the Utah Jazz, Vivint Arena and other Utah-centric business ventures, today announced the appointment of Danny Ainge as CEO of Utah Jazz Basketball.

Ainge will also represent SEG as an Alternate Governor for the Utah Jazz on the NBA’s Board of Governors.

Ainge joins SEG and the Utah Jazz after 18 years with the Boston Celtics, most recently as President of Basketball Operations. During that time, he was named NBA executive of the year and the team made 15 playoff appearances, seven Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, and won an NBA championship in 2008. Previously, Ainge was head coach of the Phoenix Suns for three seasons following a 14-year career as a player. He is a three-time NBA champion, winning two titles as a player and one as an executive.

“We have big aspirations for Smith Entertainment Group and the Utah Jazz. Danny is one of the best basketball minds in the world and he’s also passionate about this state and our community,” said Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz and SEG. “We believe in adding the best talent to all facets of our organization and are lucky to have Danny’s acumen and experience. The Jazz are in great hands with the incredible leadership of General Manager Justin Zanik and Head Coach Quin Snyder. We couldn’t be more excited to bring Danny on board to work alongside Justin, Quin and me. Danny will help make our organization stronger in pursuit of our collective goal–winning an NBA title.”

“I have known and respected Ryan and Ashley Smith for many years. What they are doing here in Utah is amazing and I am excited to be a part of their vision for the Jazz and Smith Entertainment Group as a whole,” said Danny Ainge, newly appointed CEO of Utah Jazz Basketball. “Joining the Jazz was a natural and perfect fit for me, as my roots in Utah are deep and strong. This is a team that has a tremendous foundation of players and people, and Justin and Quin are doing an amazing job. I am excited to collaborate with them, be a resource, and share the perspective I have as we work together to bring our fans the success that they deserve.”

Ainge has longstanding ties to the state of Utah. He played basketball at Brigham Young University, where he led the basketball team to an Elite Eight appearance and was awarded the John R. Wooden Award as the best collegiate basketball player in the nation. Ainge will begin work in the new role Dec. 15, 2021. Danny and his wife, Michelle, recently relocated to Utah.

Brad Stevens replaces Danny Ainge as Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations; team will find new head coach

Danny Ainge – the only Celtic in the team’s 74-year history to win championships both as a player and as a general manager – announced today that he is retiring from his role as President of Basketball Operations.

Brad Stevens, who has served as the team’s head coach for the last eight seasons, has been promoted to the team’s President of Basketball Operations.

Ainge will continue to work with the team on transition planning through the upcoming off-season.

A search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

“Helping guide this organization has been the thrill of a lifetime, and having worked side-by-side with him since he’s been here, I know we couldn’t be in better hands than with Brad guiding the team going forward,” said Ainge. “I’m grateful to ownership, all of my Celtics colleagues, and the best fans in basketball for being part of the journey.”

“Danny has made all the difference over the past 18 years – our record of winning percentage and playoff victories is near the top of the league during that time. He has always been a relentless competitor and a winner. Red Auerbach told us Danny is ‘lucky,’ and he was right, but a lot of the luck came from his intense drive and his incredible basketball insights,” said Wyc Grousbeck, Celtics Co-Owner and Governor. “Turning to Brad is a natural next step, since we have built a partnership over the past eight years, and he is a special basketball mind. We want him to lead us into the next great era of Celtics basketball.”

In his 18 years guiding the team, Ainge’s teams made 15 playoff appearances, seven Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals, and brought the team a championship in 2008, the franchise’s 17th and first in 22 years. Ainge was the first, and to this point, only general manager hired by the current Celtics ownership group, led by Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca. Since the 2007-08 season, the Celtics have won more playoff games than any team in the NBA.

“I have loved every day I have worked with Danny and we have really benefited from his relentless pursuit of excellence and high integrity approach to the game. Danny built a team that brought us our 17th championship, and leaves us with a great foundation of talent for us to build upon, including of course bringing Brad Stevens into the organization,” said Steve Pagliuca, Celtics Co-Owner and Alternate Governor. “To replace someone of Danny’s stature, we know we need a great talent evaluator, a great leader, and a great communicator, and Brad possesses all of those qualities in abundance.”

Stevens was hired by Ainge in 2013, and has led the team to a 354-282 record, including seven consecutive playoffs and three Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Stevens joined the Celtics after coaching Butler University where he became the only coach in school history to lead a team to the NCAA Division I national championship game, which he did twice.

“I’m grateful to ownership and to Danny for trusting me with this opportunity,” said Stevens. “I’m excited to tackle this new role, starting with a wide ranging and comprehensive search for our next head coach. I love the Celtics, and know the great honor and responsibility that comes with this job. I will give it everything I have to help us be in position to consistently compete for championships.”

Ainge has overseen dozens of transactions, but his best-known roster moves include the off-season of 2007, which resulted in acquiring future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join with Celtics cornerstone Paul Pierce and Ainge draft picks Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins. That group played in two NBA Finals in three years from 2008-2010.

In 2013, Ainge rapidly rebuilt the franchise in a series of moves, none more notable than trading Garnett and Pierce in a deal that netted lottery picks that were used to select current Celtics All Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. That was also the summer Ainge and ownership hired Stevens.

Like the rest of us, Danny Ainge is waiting to see what happens

Here’s the Boston Herald with an update on what Celtics front office guru Danny Ainge is thinking these days as we all wait to see what happens with the NBA season and playoffs in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic:

“This is a time for the really self-motivated that are going to be able to take advantage of this opportunity in their career to get stronger, to get in greater condition,” [Ainge] said. “We’re approaching this like we’re going to return to play and that we’re going to be playing playoff basketball. And we are staying in touch. We are having conference calls where we have guest speakers, motivational speakers, that address all of our guys on Zoom. We are doing workouts with the coaches and with the strength coaches via Zoom and so forth.

“So we’re trying to do all we can. Some players are better than others at doing things on their own and doing extra work, and some players are more compliant than others, some are harder to reach than others, but for the most part, I’ve been impressed with how our players have bought in and the work that’s going on behind the scenes.”

The NBA regular season was suspended six weeks ago today. And the 2020 playoffs were due to start this past Saturday. But for now, everything remains on hold.

Danny Ainge discusses Kyrie Irving

Entering the 2018-19 season (preseason starts Friday!) the Celtics are the clear East favorites to reach the NBA Finals. But, the games must still be played. Nothing is automatic. A big thing for Boston is getting a healthy Kyrie Irving back in action, alongside of course Gordon Hayward, who missed roughly 99.9% of last season and is now good to go. Here’s Danny Ainge discussing Irving, as reported by the Boston Herald:

As for what he’s looking forward to most with Irving back from his knee maintenance issues that necessitated a second surgery when an infection was found, Ainge said, “I think just having Kyrie’s leadership around the whole year, having him be on the court. He did a lot of good things, like texting the players. He was the biggest cheerleader for Jaylen (Brown) and Jayson (Tatum) and Terry (Rozier) and Marcus (Smart/Morris) and all those guys last year when he wasn’t playing.

“But just having him on the court at the end of games is the thing I’m looking most forward to and having a guy that can beat switches and make shots and make lots of plays. He’s a very special player.”

Ainge is getting no additional pleasure from the fact Irving is talking more about his future in Boston beyond this season in recent interviews. This after being fairly coy about his plans after he does as expected and opts out of his deal next summer to sign a more lucrative and lengthy contract.

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