The connections between the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz run deep. Following his departure from the former, after a brief respite, Danny Ainge became the CEO of Utah Jazz basketball. Their head coach, Will Hardy, was Ime Udoka's lead assistant during the 2021-22 campaign when Boston reached the NBA Finals. Scott Morrison, who was once the bench boss for the Celtics' G League affiliate in Maine, is on his staff in Salt Lake City.
As of this summer, Utah's front office includes another member of the Ainge family. After 12 years in Boston, Austin Ainge joined his father, Danny. There, he has moved up to the role of president of basketball operations.
Before Monday's 105-103 loss to the Jazz, Joe Mazzulla discussed his relationship with the younger Ainge and a prominent family within the NBA's original monarchy.
"The whole Ainge family, me personally, one of the reasons why I'm here is because of them," said the Celtics' bench boss.
"Austin has had a great perspective. He coached in the G League, and then, going into the GM role, having multiple hats…He was a guy that you could go to in the morning, and he was there, and you'd have a conversation just about whether our game or a game in the league. He brought really good perspective and wisdom to it. Think he's really smart."
Expressing his gratitude for the Ainge family and his confidence in their ability to help lead the Jazz to a brighter future, Mazzulla voiced, "The Ainge family, they pride themselves on giving back to the game, but giving back to people.
"So, they did that for me, they've done that for the Celtics, and I think the Jazz have a great guy, both Danny and him, and I think he's gonna do a hell of a job."
Will Hardy discusses Austin Ainge's impact
The chance to relocate to Utah in an elevated role didn't just reunite Austin Ainge with his father; it also allowed him to work with an individual he was once office mates with.
"It's crazy to think it wasn't that long ago, our offices were next to each other," shared Will Hardy before Monday's win at TD Garden. "We were both in very different roles. Now our offices are next to each other, and we're having very different conversations than we used to have. But he's incredibly smart. He does the work. He's a basketball junkie, a great talent evaluator."
Like Mazzulla, the Jazz's head coach also praised Austin Ainge's character. He then expressed his appreciation for having a fresh perspective on the state of the franchise.
"He's also a great person. He's very even-keel. He doesn't get very emotional, and I mean that in a good way," said Hardy. "We've gotten to spend a lot of time together over the last couple of months talking about where we are, where we want to be, and that space in between, how we're going to attack the steps to get where we want to be. But he's obviously bringing fresh eyes to it, which is helpful."