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SALT LAKE CITY — Three years removed from working for the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge deservedly got at least a modicum of credit for his part in the storied franchise winning its NBA-record 18th championship.
As executive director of basketball operations, Ainge drafted Boston's two best players — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — three and four years earlier, respectively. He also was instrumental in pulling off multiple trades that led to the organization's 17th championship in 2008.
Can the former BYU star find the magical touch for the Utah Jazz? As owner Ryan Smith's most trusted advisor, Ainge faces the monumental task of rebuilding a team that has languished near the bottom of the Western Conference standings the last two seasons.
The bossman, as always, has the final say in all matters relating to the Jazz, the real authority belongs to the CEO of basketball operations that Smith hired in December 2021 six months after Ainge retired from his Boston position. From the sounds of it, Smith will defer to his resident expert.
Heading into last June's draft, Ainge doped out Taylor Hendricks as being the best player available when the Jazz drafted ninth. Sure enough, the team selected the extremely raw — but clearly athletic — forward on draft night.
The Jazz also took the more NBA-ready Keyonte George at No. 16. Considered a steal, George played well enough to earn all-rookie second-team honors.
Even if the solid picks failed to improve the team's record, the Jazz draft was considered a success. But Ainge needs to follow it up this week with another solid round of selections in a draft in which the Jazz have three picks in the top 32.
"We're super fortunate to have Danny," Smith said during an interview on The Zone. "He's the GOAT (greatest of all time) in my mind. I think there's three people who have a winning percentage in playing, coaching and being a GM in all of NBA history. For me, personally, I just trust Danny more than I trust myself — all there is to it."
No wiggle room there, even if it's overstating. Ainge is not the greatest all-time NBA executive — not yet anyway — but there's no doubting he's got the power to get there.
Taken at Smith's word, Ainge holds the Jazz future in his hands. Hard to argue with the owner, given his buddy's track record in Boston.
Watching the NBA Finals, which the Celtics won in only five games, Smith said he saw Ainge's "hands all over everything that's been done in Boston. From my perspective, you really don't bring Danny Ainge in and not let Danny Ainge do Danny Ainge things."
But don't expect any overnight miracles to arrive on draft night. Outside of less than a handful of exceptions, rookies require plenty of seasoning before making a significant impact.
It's partially why Ainge is looking to go "big-game hunting" more veteran talent this offseason. Supplementing the talent level primarily new draft picks most certainly will lead to a third consecutive losing season.
Therein lies the organization's dilemma — trade young talent and tap into the horde of future draft picks to make an immediate splash or suffer through more misery. Whichever path they decide, Jazz had better go all-in either way or face getting another late lottery draft position.
"I'm involved in all of the details around the team," Smith said, "but when it comes to basketball personnel and how we do it, you know, I'm a competitive guy. I want to win, and I want to win now and I want to win always. We have that goal for our franchise to be able to do something we haven't done, which is win a championship. It's really, really important to me, and I'm going to be doing this for 30 years. That's at least what I told (wife) Ashley. I said, 'Hey, this is a 30-year calling, right?' And so, we're doing it for 30 years, and we got our goals to win a championship."
