Danny Ainge's retirement has come to an end.
According to multiple reports, the longtime Celtics president of basketball operations has been hired as alternate governor and CEO of the Utah Jazz. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news.
Ainge announced his "retirement" in June after 18 years leading the Celtics, with Brad Stevens taking over as president of basketball operations. It did not take long for rumors to begin that Ainge could eventually take a role with another team, though.
The Jazz always seemed like an obvious fit given Ainge's ties to Utah. He was a star at BYU in college and has family and a home in the state. Jazz owner Ryan Smith is also a BYU alum and reportedly a good friend of Ainge.
Justin Zanik will remain Utah's general manager, according to Wojnarowski.
While in charge of the Celtics, Ainge built the 2007-08 team that won the franchise's first championship since 1986, when he was on the team as a player. Ainge also hit on current stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the draft, although he came under criticism in recent years for not being able to build a championship-caliber roster around them.
In the Jazz, Ainge moves to a team that is currently third in the Western Conference a year after they had the best regular-season record in the NBA. The Jazz lost to the Clippers in the second round of the playoffs last spring.
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