Report: Ainge candidate for Utah Jazz position

[Ed Monix]

Danny Ainge is being considered a candidate for an advisory role with the Utah Jazz, according to a report from Tony Jones of The Athletic.

Ainge has deep ties to the Utah region through his family and is reportedly very close to new Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith. The long-time Celtic also put up his Wellesley residence up for sale earlier month.

Utah’s executive Vice President of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey stepped down on Sunday night to take an advisory role with the team. General manager Justin Zanik will take over and run day-to-day operations in his absence.

The moves come on the heels of a disappointing second-round exit for the Jazz to an undermanned Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Playoffs.

[Tr1boy]

Danny Ainge is being considered a candidate for an advisory role with the Utah Jazz, according to a report from Tony Jones of The Athletic.

Ainge has deep ties to the Utah region through his family and is reportedly very close to new Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith. The long-time Celtic also put up his Wellesley residence up for sale earlier month.

Utah’s executive Vice President of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey stepped down on Sunday night to take an advisory role with the team. General manager Justin Zanik will take over and run day-to-day operations in his absence.

The moves come on the heels of a disappointing second-round exit for the Jazz to an undermanned Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Yup..  I bet it happens

[Ogaju]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

[gift]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

[Ogaju]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

Didn’t he say he was going to stay engaged in Boston? So he will be consulting for Utah and Boston, is that the plan?

[Tr1boy]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

[Vermont Green]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

Didn’t he say he was going to stay engaged in Boston? So he will be consulting for Utah and Boston, is that the plan?

A "consulting role", what does that mean?  A team GM or President or whatever needs to be the "buck stops here" guy for a team.  Just the idea of some passive consultants, hired by the owner, weighing in on big decisions does not sound all that workable.  Maybe it makes the owner feel better but GMs have their staffs and scouts to advise them, their people, not the owner's buddies.

But to the "was he let go" question, the Celtics owners could have offered Ainge a token consulting position but didn't or Danny was just ready to leave Boston.  Utah is his home and it is a very nice place for a Mormon (or anyone) to live.  It is not surprising that at this point in his life, he is ready to go home.  This idea of a consulting role on the Jazz is probably more about PR than strategy.  He is popular in Utah so as a "consultant", he can make appearances and promote the team, something that would be of value to the Utah owners I would think.

[Moranis]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

Didn’t he say he was going to stay engaged in Boston? So he will be consulting for Utah and Boston, is that the plan?

A "consulting role", what does that mean?  A team GM or President or whatever needs to be the "buck stops here" guy for a team.  Just the idea of some passive consultants, hired by the owner, weighing in on big decisions does not sound all that workable.  Maybe it makes the owner feel better but GMs have their staffs and scouts to advise them, their people, not the owner's buddies.

But to the "was he let go" question, the Celtics owners could have offered Ainge a token consulting position but didn't or Danny was just ready to leave Boston.  Utah is his home and it is a very nice place for a Mormon (or anyone) to live.  It is not surprising that at this point in his life, he is ready to go home.  This idea of a consulting role on the Jazz is probably more about PR than strategy.  He is popular in Utah so as a "consultant", he can make appearances and promote the team, something that would be of value to the Utah owners I would think.

nba teams hire consultants all of the time.  They often are a bounce ideas off of kind of people or perhaps have some very specific contacts or specialties.  Sometimes they do have some veto power or more control.  Jerry West has had those positions in the past. 

[Tr1boy]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

Didn’t he say he was going to stay engaged in Boston? So he will be consulting for Utah and Boston, is that the plan?

A "consulting role", what does that mean?  A team GM or President or whatever needs to be the "buck stops here" guy for a team.  Just the idea of some passive consultants, hired by the owner, weighing in on big decisions does not sound all that workable.  Maybe it makes the owner feel better but GMs have their staffs and scouts to advise them, their people, not the owner's buddies.

But to the "was he let go" question, the Celtics owners could have offered Ainge a token consulting position but didn't or Danny was just ready to leave Boston. Utah is his home and it is a very nice place for a Mormon (or anyone) to live.  It is not surprising that at this point in his life, he is ready to go home.  This idea of a consulting role on the Jazz is probably more about PR than strategy.  He is popular in Utah so as a "consultant", he can make appearances and promote the team, something that would be of value to the Utah owners I would think.

Imo I think what sealed the deal was

"I never heard any of that, from any player that I’ve ever played with in my 26 years in Boston."

And the backlash/social media storm... Danny probably knew it was time to separate

If he stayed on as a consultant,  the media would take jabs ... that he was still controlling things from the top.  Perhaps the players would feel the same way

Utah could be a good retirement place for him. Golf culture/more courses. Closer to family

[gift]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

No, not necessarily. It's a consulting gig he can do from his home in Utah for a close friend, rather than a full time gig across the country. If he became GM or something, then yes.

Didn’t he say he was going to stay engaged in Boston? So he will be consulting for Utah and Boston, is that the plan?

My impression was that was through the transition, which is a big reason why I see Ainge's fingerprints on the Kemba trade and Udoka hiring (we know Ainge wanted to trade Kemba already). If we accept the narrative that this stuff was in the works since Feb. those moves would have been at the top of the board while Ainge was in charge. They didn't come together in the short time after the front office announcement. Ainge being engaged was him guiding the processes of these final moves.

I really think Ainge doesn't want a full time, high pressure job at this point in his life. But he doesn't want to retire completely either. If he doesn't have a full time job in Boston, why live there? If there's a part time gig back home, working for a friend, why not take that?

They could have pushed Ainge out. I just don't see it based on things that have been made public so far. If Ainge takes an active, official role with Utah though, I do think that's a signal that he was pushed out.

[Kuberski33]

Can yall stop with the he was not let go narrative if he takes this job?

Totally agree. Danny was encouraged by ownership to step down.

[W8ting2McHale]

Some people really enjoy looking for drama when there ain’t none.

[Neurotic Guy]

Mostly, I don't care whether he was pushed out, decided to leave on his own, or some combination of the 2.   
It does seem that an advising gig with Utah sounds like a dream job if he's still got some passion (heck -- he ain't old... he's my age) for a role in the NBA with about 1 millionth of the pressure of his old job.   Sounds great for Danny -- I hope he gets the offer.

[Ogaju]

Mostly, I don't care whether he was pushed out, decided to leave on his own, or some combination of the 2.   
It does seem that an advising gig with Utah sounds like a dream job if he's still got some passion (heck -- he ain't old... he's my age) for a role in the NBA with about 1 millionth of the pressure of his old job.   Sounds great for Danny -- I hope he gets the offer.

NG..you are a reasonable guy. Your posts are full of wisdom. The debate that ran through last season was that there was something wrong with this team and changes had to be made. Some folks agreed and others said no. The team gets knocked out, changes were made, yet the ‘all is good with the team’ want to keep the narrative by arguing that Ainge’s retirement was in the works and unrelated to the direction the team had taken.

[Neurotic Guy]

Mostly, I don't care whether he was pushed out, decided to leave on his own, or some combination of the 2.   
It does seem that an advising gig with Utah sounds like a dream job if he's still got some passion (heck -- he ain't old... he's my age) for a role in the NBA with about 1 millionth of the pressure of his old job.   Sounds great for Danny -- I hope he gets the offer.

NG..you are a reasonable guy. Your posts are full of wisdom. The debate that ran through last season was that there was something wrong with this team and changes had to be made. Some folks agreed and others said no. The team gets knocked out, changes were made, yet the ‘all is good with the team’ want to keep the narrative by arguing that Ainge’s retirement was in the works and unrelated to the direction the team had taken.

Yes -- I wasn't seeing the relevance of the debate.   

I understand some wanting to see this as a move by ownership in recognition of a failing direction v. those who think Danny opted out of his own accord (implying ownership would have continued as is).  I suppose in that light I'd like to think that ownership was active in the decision -- whether to take him out of the Pres/GM role or to work with Danny and Brad to find a reasonable solution for change.