Austin Ainge is now in charge of the Utah Jazz rebuild. Here’s what he said on his first day.

The Utah Jazz added another Ainge to its front office this week.

Austin Ainge, the son of Jazz CEO Danny Ainge, is Utah’s new president of basketball operations. The former BYU player and Boston Celtics executive will now be responsible for steering Utah toward becoming a contender someday.

Here is how Ainge sees the state of the franchise and his first summer on the job.

The Jazz’s new hierarchy

Jazz owner Ryan Smith made it clear: Austin Ainge will have final say in basketball decisions.

With CEO Danny Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik still around, there were questions about who would have the loudest voice in the room. But Zanik and Danny Ainge will report to Austin Ainge.

“Austin will be running the program. He’s got final recommendation to myself on any decisions that need to be made,” Smith said. “I think it’s the job of both Justin, Danny and myself to kind of plug into him.”

Smith thinks the addition of Austin Ainge will free up Zanik and Danny Ainge to focus on their roles. The Jazz left the president of basketball operations position open for the last two years. Danny Ainge didn’t want the role when he came to the organization.

But it meant Zanik and Ainge were spread thin.

“We’re supposed to be everywhere at once. I mean, we’re supposed to be here watching our team, while also watching tournaments that are going on in the Big East and the Big 12, plus overseas,” Smith said. “I think Justin and Danny have operated probably about as lean as any team in the NBA.”

Smith believes Austin Ainge can alleviate that, while complementing Zanik and Danny Ainge’s skill sets. He noted Zanik’s role will not change.

“They would actually work really well. I mean, Austin came from the scouting and talent evaluation and roster construction side. I think JZ came up as an attorney into talent. Much more managing players on that side. You look at where they meet up,” Smith said. ”And then you combine that with DA, who hopefully can pick his spots a little bit more and have a little bit more depth there."

How will Ainge build, and what will he do with the fifth pick?

Austin Ainge spent 17 years in Boston, helping build the Celtics’ current championship window with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

He believes Utah, even without a tradition of attracting prized free agents, can build like the Celtics.

“It’s the same. Honestly, I think this is a great place,” he said. “Players want hope. They want to win. They want great culture. They want great coaching. They want great teammates. So that’s what we have to give.”

But what does that mean for his immediate plans? That’s unclear. The Jazz hold the fifth pick in this year’s draft and could take the pick or trade it away.

Ainge said he evaluated the whole draft and is prepared for all options.

“You never know what trades are coming on the clock,” Ainge said. “So I definitely spent a lot of time on this draft. I interviewed most of these young players at the combine already. So I feel prepared. I can’t wait to learn from all the great people in the Jazz organization and get their input and think through the big decisions. There’ll be trade conversations, all these things.”

What is the rebuild timeline?

Jazz fans only endured one year of a true tank, but there are already questions about how long Utah’s rebuild will be.

Ainge didn’t put a timeline on when he thinks the Jazz will be competitive again, but he doesn’t think it will be soon.

“It’ll just depend on how these guys develop and what other moves we make, right?” he said. “It’s a hard thing to predict. I think it’s fair to say we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

One of the reasons he wanted to come to Utah was so he could make the fundamental decisions that would affect that timeline.

This early in the rebuild, Ainge will have control of the direction of the program.

“If we’re going to do this, now is when I want to be a part it. These are big decisions coming up. Now feels like the right time,” Ainge said. “We have a ton of optionality, a lot of future picks, a lot of things we can do. It’s going to take a lot of work, but I can’t wait to get started.”

Ainge added he doesn’t think the Jazz necessarily need the No. 1 pick to complete a rebuild — something the organization tried to get with 65 losses in 2025.

“If you look at the playoffs and look at all the best players in the NBA, and how many of them went No. 1, it’s better to have the No. 1 pick,” Ainge said. “But there’s a lot of other stars that came from all over the draft, and certainly the Jazz have a long history of second-rounders that become All-Stars. So [getting the No. 1 pick] is not the only way to do it.”