Jazz Hiring Austin Ainge As President Of Basketball Operations

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Utah Jazz are hiring Austin Ainge as president of basketball operations. Ainge has worked for the Boston Celtics for the last 14 years.

Ainge's father, Danny, is currently the CEO of basketball operations for the Jazz. Justin Zanik has had a large role running the team's day-to-day operations as the team's general manager.

Part of Ainge's role with Boston has been to lead the team's college and international scouting departments. Ainge is often credited with the Celtics ability to draft impact players late in the first round, as well as bringing in talent from overseas.

The Jazz have the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. They've been in a rebuilding mode for the last three seasons, after trading Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves respectively.

Via Shams Charania and Tim Bontemps/ESPN

[RipCityKJ]

Another successful Nepo baby story. Must be nice to have life handed to all the time.

[God Squad]

lol.

[beefman]

Another successful Nepo baby story. Must be nice to have life handed to all the time.

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

[deepeeenn]

Another successful Nepo baby story. Must be nice to have life handed to all the time.

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

[akula1488]

what's Jazz's record under Ainge? they have not been relevant for how long?

[TheCage4]

Thanks Dad!

[chilluminati]

What a joke, sucks for competent experienced FO workers.

[BigHustle]

Another successful Nepo baby story. Must be nice to have life handed to all the time.

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

[beefman]

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

[kenwood3333]

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

A graceful way for the kid to leave, others would not have gotten a few more years.

[deepeeenn]

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

Let me explain this a bit further. I’m not going to waste too much of my energy trying to explain the topic.

Danny hired his own son, Austin, when he was head of Basketball Operations in Boston. When Austin’s only prior experience was a short stint as an assistant coach at Southern Utah University. This is where he got the leg up aka Nepo flag #1. Austin first started coaching Boston’s G-League team before moving into the Celtics front office. Like a lot of Nepo Babies, it’s the initial hiring that get’s their career going... They can earn the rest. It’s the doors they have available that others don’t that gives them privilege…

And now, Danny has hired his son away from Boston, where his credentials were in Scouting to become President of Basketball Operations. That is a giant step up! Not saying it doesn’t happen but it raises Nepo flag #2. A strong argument can be made that this is nepotism, he’s gotten his most significant hires from his dad.

The thing about nepotism, especially in the public space, is that it’s never quite conclusive to outsiders. A kid grows up around their parents, they see them operate, they tend to imitate them. They can often be around them in professional closed door environments. That level of insight is not available to the average person. That’s privilege. That, though, doesn’t in itself lead to nepotism. It’s largely when they are able to benefit from it professionally or through opportunity by bypassing normal formalities.

[beefymajesto]

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

What are you guys, cousins of the ainge family? This is clear as day nepotism.

[Pickled Prunes]

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

Let me explain this a bit further. I’m not going to waste too much of my energy trying to explain the topic.

Danny hired his own son, Austin, when he was head of Basketball Operations in Boston. When Austin’s only prior experience was a short stint as an assistant coach at Southern Utah University. This is where he got the leg up aka Nepo flag #1. Austin first started coaching Boston’s G-League team before moving into the Celtics front office. Like a lot of Nepo Babies, it’s the initial hiring that get’s their career going... They can earn the rest. It’s the doors they have available that others don’t that gives them privilege…

And now, Danny has hired his son away from Boston, where his credentials were in Scouting to become President of Basketball Operations. That is a giant step up! Not saying it doesn’t happen but it raises Nepo flag #2. A strong argument can be made that this is nepotism, he’s gotten his most significant hires from his dad.

The thing about nepotism, especially in the public space, is that it’s never quite conclusive to outsiders. A kid grows up around their parents, they see them operate, they tend to imitate them. They can often be around them in professional closed door environments. That level of insight is not available to the average person. That’s privilege. That, though, doesn’t in itself lead to nepotism. It’s largely when they are able to benefit from it professionally or through opportunity by bypassing normal formalities.

It can be nepotism and a good hire at the same time, but it's definitely nepotism. I mean, if he is one of the 30 most brilliant basketball minds he probably would have already been hired as president by one of the 29 other teams in the NBA.... but he wasn't; he was hired by his dad. In fact he has been hired and promoted by his dad multiple times. There are 8.2 Billion people in the world: What are the chances that his son is truly the best person for the job? We will soon find out.

[RipCityKJ]

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

So you either don’t have a job or didn’t have to work for your job otherwise you’d understand. Nepotism is a crutch for the weakest of minds. Never having to navigate the real world like the rest of us and always having someone to help boost you up or catch you when you fall does not build strong character. Without his dad where would he be?

[Pickled Prunes]

This makes no sense. Danny left. Kid stayed gainfully employed for a few years. Natural talent. What am I missing?

you're not missing something, the other guy is

So you either don’t have a job or didn’t have to work for your job otherwise you’d understand. Nepotism is a crutch for the weakest of minds. Never having to navigate the real world like the rest of us and always having someone to help boost you up or catch you when you fall does not build strong character. Without his dad where would he be?

I don't know about that. I own a business and may hire my kids some day (if they actually want to work with me, which I doubt). It's a little different when it's a cooperate or governmental job where a persons ineptitude could conceivably be covered up, especially when it's a job with authority and many underlings counting on your competence.

There are only thirty PoBO positions in the NBA; a lot of eyes will be on this one!

[Cassius]

If George Orwell was tasked with writing an Animal Farm style metaphor on private equity/venture capital/alternative finance & investment, this is it:

Boston? Check
Nepotism? Check
Strip the acquired business of its assets? Check
Run what’s left into the ground? Check
Put an unqualified fresh-out in charge of operations once the core business is hollowed out and unrecognizable, so that anything resembling competence is presented as resounding success? Check!

[The Beam King]

Another successful Nepo baby story. Must be nice to have life handed to all the time.

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

How is this anybdifferent than affirmative action. Instead of family, it's the government picking the winners and loawrs.

[Cassius]

yea, that's why the best time in the league had him on staff. if he was useless, they would have fired him after Ainge left. what a poor take. you're like the Stephen A. Smith of realgm

You understand how nepotism generally works right?
It’s often that initial opportunity that is given to a nepo baby that places them in a position to succeed over someone else. It’s easy to see after 14yrs that he was able to develop into a productive professional in his role. BUT then to go from Scouting to President of BBO under his DAD? Come on… you don’t see that second level of nepotism?

How is this anybdifferent than affirmative action. Instead of family, it's the government picking the winners and loawrs.

Affirmative action was created as a solution for nepotism. Nepotism will put anyone in a role as long as they look like me, no matter how unqualified they might be. Affirmative action tries to reduce the odds of an entire organization being staffed based on one set of genes/family tree, by requiring that there is representation from a variety of people groups being hired by a company, to reduce the odds of an unqualified person being hired based on being a member of the dominant race.

The irony is that white women have been the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action and DEI, which means that for all its efforts to make companies more diverse, the fact of the matter is that it simply legalized nepotism for daughters while outlawing it for sons.