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Boston Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach always loved his one-word label for players like Danny Ainge: "instigator."
No better description could exist for Ainge, a polarizing player in Utah in his college days for multiple reasons that included playing for BYU, being very good and being really annoying. He was Jimmer Fredette before Jimmer was born, becoming one of the most revered athletes in BYU history for reviving the basketball program in the early 1980s.
And now Ainge is the Jazz's biggest nemesis. He's this century's Red Auerbach in Boston, operating the Celtics and chasing Jazz forward Gordon Hayward in free agency. Instigator? I'd say so. Ainge is stirring all kinds of emotions in Utah during a pursuit that basically comes down to Ainge's persuasive power vs. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey's storytelling ability.
Each of them needs Hayward. Oklahoma City's trade for Paul George means that Ainge has missed opportunities to acquire Jimmy Butler and George in June, and that the Jazz must contend with Butler (Minnesota) and George in the Western Conference.
Miami also is contending for Hayward. This could be like the "Brady Bunch" episode when Greg was judging the contenders for Westdale High's head cheerleader. The plot revolved around his dilemma between picking his sister Marcia or his girlfriend, Jennifer Nichols. And then he chose Pat Conway, clearly the best performer.
So will Miami's Pat Riley become Pat Conway, in the Hayward sweepstakes? That seems like a long shot.
More likely, this competition is between the Jazz/Lindsey and the Celtics/Ainge. Mix in the candidacy of Ainge's son Tanner for Utah's vacant congressional seat, and this stuff gets even more interesting.
Each executive has done some good things, with Ainge's longevity — he's been on the job for 14 years, which seems impossible — and Boston's resources having helped him achieve a lot, including an NBA championship in 2008.
Lindsey's credentials, by comparisons, are modest. Yet with the added challenge of working in the West, he has succeeded in matching Boston's recent rebuild. Ainge won his NBA title by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and then he traded Paul Pierce and Garnett when they still had value. He launched another recovery with Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford and others, coached by Brad Stevens.
Lindsey's biggest hits were drafting Rudy Gobert, hiring coach Quin Snyder, signing free agent Joe Johnson and trading for point guards George Hill and Ricky Rubio in successive summers. He's also had some misses, such as drafting Trey Burke.
His peers made him a strong No. 3 in the Executive of the Year voting for 2016-17, behind Golden State's Bob Myers and Huston's Daryl Morey. Now comes Lindsey's defining moment in his five years in Utah. Can he beat Ainge and Riley and keep Hayward?
The Jazz already covered the potential loss of Hill in free agency by trading for Rubio, but who could replace Hayward? Danilo Gallinari is a possibility, but nobody would be fully satisfying compared to Hayward.
In that sense, Lindsey faces more pressure than Ainge, who's just trying to upgrade his roster — although there's the expectation in Boston that Ainge has to do something this summer to compete with Cleveland in the East. The Hayward quest is a clear-cut, win-or-lose proposition for the Jazz, regardless of how Lindsey may respond to filling Hayward's vacancy.
Lindsey likes to say the Jazz have "a good story." Monday's meeting is his chance to tell it well, and write the best chapter of his career.
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