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Jazz hire Celtics Assistant GM Austin Ainge as new President of Basketball Operations

gomretat said:
I dont think my issue is unrealistic expectations nor do I think my view is "weird" but you are welcome to call it whatever you like. I would argue there is a growing feeling that is consistent with my issues ever since Ainge took over. IF you insisted on trading BOTH HOF players (which never made sense), then tank out of the gate, don't putz around for 2 years with no direction. That by the way is a very common take on what this FO has done. Not only have the national coverage folks been calling us out for several years, finally some of the local media are doing so.

You did nail part of the issue with your luck comment. I have zero expectations around timelines but I do think having a plan not based upon luck matters. Our entire process is based upon getting lucky. Ainge got very lucky in Boston. That is why you trade for young talent in addition to picks. Not only have we not replaced to HOF players, it is doubtful that we have acquired the talent to replace our solid starters and role players.

Mid season the numbers showed that the Jazz had shed 44% of their viewership this year. That doesnt account for the drop of the few years before. You can love the process as much as you like but I am comfortable saying there are plenty of fans that hate it when their team is trying to throw games by using G league players with legit NBA guys on the bench. In my view, the people enjoying this are like lemmings just buying into a narrative that is has been sold by the FO and supported by the BYU zealots who think Danny can do no wrong because of where he played college ball.

I loved watching the post John and Karl team that went 42-42 because they were busting it. Creating a culture of wanting to lose is not my cup of tea. If that makes me weird and unrealistic, so be it.
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It makes you weird because you arent accepting the reality of the situation

The Jazz had no asset base to turn things around w/ Rudy/Donovan. Donovan (seemingly) wasnt stoked to stay in Utah.

The only charitable thing I can say about your stance is maybe Utah could have swung the assets from the Rudy trade to bring another star in next to Donovan (like Siakim), but the Jazz had no way of knowing Walker Kessler would be NBA ready from the trade. But the Siakim trade didnt happen until 2024 and I doubt Donovan would have extended with Utah (but maybe he would have, IDK. Moves made league wide in the following year post-Donovan trade dried up his destinations to go, so he just took the $$ and maybe he would have done the same in Utah).

I just think the Jazz did the safest and most reasonable moves they could possibly do, and they absolutely hit homeruns on those deals.

The not tanking right away thing is also a reasonable complaint, but the Jazz did not expect Lauri to be an All-Star caliber player. They did not expect Walker Kessler to be NBA ready from the jump. They did not expect Conley to be able to lead a team of misfits after he had the worst postseason series of his career. And as we've seen, just tanking and selling everything off as cheap as possible doesnt guarantee the preferred outcome.

Besides the draft pick of Cody Williams, I cant point to any huge misstep Ainge has overseen.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
It makes you weird because you arent accepting the reality of the situation

The Jazz had no asset base to turn things around w/ Rudy/Donovan. Donovan (seemingly) wasnt stoked to stay in Utah.

The only charitable thing I can say about your stance is maybe Utah could have swung the assets from the Rudy trade to bring another star in next to Donovan (like Siakim), but the Jazz had no way of knowing Walker Kessler would be NBA ready from the trade. But the Siakim trade didnt happen until 2024 and I doubt Donovan would have extended with Utah (but maybe he would have, IDK).

I just think the Jazz did the safest and most reasonable moves they could possibly do, and they absolutely hit homeruns on those deals.

The not tanking right away thing is also a reasonable complaint, but the Jazz did not expect Lauri to be an All-Star caliber player. They did not expect Walker Kessler to be NBA ready from the jump. They did not expect Conley to be able to lead a team of misfits after he had the worst postseason series of his career. And as we've seen, just tanking and selling everything off as cheap as possible doesnt guarantee the preferred outcome.

Besides the draft pick of Cody Williams, I cant point to any huge misstep Ainge has overseen.
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To add to your point…

In regards to Cody who did we really miss out on that would have changed our franchise significantly?
 
Elizah Huge said:
To add to your point…

In regards to Cody who did we really miss out on that would have changed our franchise significantly?
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I mean, just getting a viable prospect that has value can be a pretty big game changer. If the Jazz had drafted Buzelis, he would be a legtimate trade piece in trade talks. Cody is probably just a throw in sweetener for any team that thought he was something pre-draft.
 
All I care about is results and in this case whether the resume is befitting for the role. I am not sure Ainge the Younger’s is or isn’t.

I can say I’m not a fan of the nepo thing conceptually, especially as it relates to JZ. I don’t think it’s good to make anyone in the braintrust disgruntled or bitter towards the organization or other members of the brain trust, and the best way of avoiding that is to not give anyone in the brain trust good reason to be disgruntled or bitter.

TLDR; Ainge the Younger better be ****ing good.
 
Thing I liked best about Austin's press conference: his insistence that stacking good decisions is more important than some grand strategy & his admission that while a lot of good players in the playoffs are from top picks, there's lots of ways to build top teams.

Thing I found strange: calling his dad, "DA" (but I'm sure this is just a personal hangup).
 
KqWIN said:
As a fan, setting the team up where you don't have to sit players is just what I want. The most miserable part of the tank was the manipulation of minutes throughout years, embarrassing.

I also wonder if AA will be less stubborn than DA. We all know that DA has a reputation as a stickler for better or worse. I think it has hurt us in the sense that it has taken us forever to cleanse the roster of vets. AA shouldn't have an ego attached to future potential trades.
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If what you’re suggesting is that it would be both smart and “right” to make some trades to organically bottom out - even if they’re not perfect - then I concur 100%.
 
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I just watched the full press conference and the vibe that Austin gave was definitely different than what the media has been feeding us all year.

I don't think he is interested in tearing the team down anymore. He seems to genuinely hate being bad on purpose. I just don't know how it can be the smart move with the pick we owe to OKC.
 
SoberasHotRod said:
I just watched the full press conference and the vibe that Austin gave was definitely different than what the media has been feeding us all year.

I don't think he is interested in tearing the team down anymore. He seems to genuinely hate being bad on purpose. I just don't know how it can be the smart move with the pick we owe to OKC.
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Great, now I am terrified.
 
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