Danny Ainge fires back at popular narrative about him

Oct 26, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge looks on during warms ups before the game against the Houston Rockets at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Trader Danny thinks that the memes about him have gone too far.

Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge spoke in an interview this week with Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. At one point in the interview, Ainge hit back at the popular assumption about him — that he wants to see the Jazz tank into Atlantis and is thus upset over Utah’s blazing start to the season.

“I mean, come on,” Ainge replied. “Who would say that? And who would I ever have told that to? Just think about that for a second.”

“I’m not commenting on other people’s comments,” Ainge continued. “It’s assumed that’s how I feel? Give me a break. I’ve been accused of [building teams to lose] before. It’s never been true.”

Ainge’s reputation likely stems from the fact that he has overseen multiple dramatic roster decimations during his executive career. As the president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, he famously sold off franchise legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets for a treasure chest of future assets (including ones that later became Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown). Then with the Jazz last summer, Ainge traded away four of five starters from the previous year’s team (Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale, and Bojan Bogdanovic), leading many to believe that Utah was going south for the winter in an attempt to land highly-touted 2023 prospect Victor Wembanyama.

Instead, the Jazz have done the complete opposite, starting the season at a mystifying 10-3, which currently has them first (yes, first) in the Western Conference. Led by a mix of newcomers like Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton plus holdovers like Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley, Utah has six players averaging double figures this season and collectively owns one of the top net ratings in the entire NBA (6.3 points better than opponents per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com). Meanwhile, first-year head coach Will Hardy, who is still only 34, suddently looks like the NBA’s next sideline star.

As for Ainge, who added in the interview with Mannix that he has been “pleasantly surprised” by the start, his methods may be controversial to some. But there is little doubt Ainge is doing right by the Jazz, especially considering their current hot streak this season as well as the ridiculous amount of picks that they own in future seasons.