Utah Jazz Name Danny Ainge Alternate Governor, CEO of Basketball Operations

In town last week for The Tradition, an annual gala held by The Sports Museum at TD Garden, Danny Ainge discussed potentially taking another NBA front office job in an interview with NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg.

"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."

He's now found that opportunity. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Utah Jazz are hiring Ainge as alternate governor and CEO of Jazz Basketball.

Ainge's title is Alternate Governor and CEO of Jazz Basketball. https://t.co/bnpQ1NXBiS
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 15, 2021

Per Woj, Ainge will oversee basketball operations for the Jazz while working closely with their general manager, Justin Zanik. So, while he's taking on a lot of responsibility, the latter will make this role less strenuous.

According to Tim MacMahon, also of ESPN, Ainge, who's friends with Jazz owner Ryan Smith, worked out a deal with him last week at Tiger Woods' golf tournament in the Bahamas.

Ryan Smith and Danny Ainge worked out this deal last week while attending Tiger Woods' golf tournament in the Bahamas, they told me. Smith: "Everyone has always asked, ‘Is this the plan?’ Well, it definitely wasn’t Danny’s plan until last week." https://t.co/ifrE1N2KfN
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 15, 2021

"Rarely do you get an opportunity to come into a franchise that is this close to being a special team," Ainge told MacMahon. "It’s a very unique opportunity."

Danny Ainge: "Rarely do you get an opportunity to come into a franchise that is this close to being a special team. It’s a very unique opportunity." He said he need the last 6 or 7 months to decompress and spend time with family before considering a jump back into the NBA. https://t.co/58Ui94JfFR
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 15, 2021

Adding to what makes this opportunity a good fit for Ainge, who starred at BYU, is that he lives in Utah, where some of his family reside.

Ainge will now oversee a Jazz team that at 19-7 is third in the Western Conference and NBA standings. They're three games behind the Golden State Warriors for first place. Utah's currently on a seven-game win streak that includes a 137-130 victory over Ainge's former team, the Boston Celtics.

The Jazz finished with the best record in the NBA last regular season. Injuries, including to franchise cornerstone Donovan Mitchell, compromised them in the playoffs, but it's also true they got eliminated by a Los Angeles Clippers team that lost Kawhi Leonard in that series. The same goes for their lack of athletic perimeter defenders repeatedly getting exploited as the Clippers rallied to win the series.

So, while the Jazz are once again proving successful in the regular season, it will be interesting to see if Ainge makes a trade or multiple moves that may be necessary for this team to raise the Larry O'Brien trophy.