Getty General manager Danny Ainge of the Boston Celtics speaks with the media.
Former Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has been busy with his new team, the Utah Jazz, this summer. The Jazz traded their two best players, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. Their moves signified that they were entering a rebuild. During a press conference with Justin Zanik on September 12, Ainge explained why he made the moves he did.
Ainge said he was “curious and optimistic” about the Jazz’s chances when he first joined the team, but he did not like what he saw from them as a unit.
“What I saw during the season was a group of players that really didn’t believe in each other,” Ainge said, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. “I think individually they have resolve. I just don’t believe that collectively they did. So we saw a lot of players trying to do it on their own, as the belief in one another wasn’t as great as other teams I’ve been on and around.”
Ainge remained optimistic when the Jazz entered the playoffs, but once they were eliminated by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, that told Ainge everything he needed to know.
“So when we got to the playoffs, I thought, well, this is a team that’s had some disappointing playoffs, and maybe they’re just waiting for the playoffs,” he continued. “And so I gave them that benefit of the doubt. But it was clear the team did not perform well in the playoffs again.”
Exec Praises Ainge for Rare Approach
A Western Conference executive spoke with Heavy regarding Ainge’s success as an executive. The executive singled out Ainge’s emphasis on chemistry when he’s building his teams.
“I think with Danny, there are very few guys out there who think about chemistry as much when they are putting together a team. I mean, he had talented teams with (Paul) Pierce and Antoine (Walker) that did not get very far. And he had one of the teams that had the best chemistry in the last couple of decades with that 2008 Boston team. You can feel the difference with your stars, with your role players.”
The executive went on to reference Ainge’s time in Boston as a player, as well as his time as Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns, which helped him see why chemistry was so important to a team trying to win.
“He saw it as a player in Boston. That 1986 Celtics team was just chemistry up and down, all 12 players. And before that, there was some bad chemistry with the Celtics and the players there (with) Bill Fitch in the early 80s. He saw it in Phoenix, where he had some talented teams he was coaching, but they did not like each other. They did not like him, and that was it. They failed. So he learned those lessons well. You can tell he thinks about that when he makes moves.”
Ainge May Make More Moves
After the Donovan Mitchell deal was done, Adrian Wojnarowski reported on September 1 that the Jazz had more coveted trade assets on their team, like Mike Conley Jr., Jordan Clarkson, and Bojan Bogdanovic
Utah still has coveted veteran trade asserts, including Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley Jr. They’ll approach an Oklahoma City-esque haul of draft assets once they’re done dealing. Jazz consider Markkanen, Sexton and Agbaji keepers for their rebuilding roster.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported on September 12 that the Jazz may very well make more moves involving those three, although it appears there is no rush for them to make another trade.
“The sense around the league is that the Jazz at least feel that they have deals for all of those veteran players,” Shelburne said. “The Jazz are not in any hurry to make these decisions now. They don’t need to do that much financially to get under the tax, and they can take their time.”
More changes for the Jazz may be on the way 👀
“They still have Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley. The sense around the league is that the Jazz at least feel that they have deals for all of those veteran players.” – @ramonashelburne