Utah Jazz CEO of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge is determined to turn the team’s fortunes around as soon as possible after the team failed to make the NBA playoffs for the second straight season.
During his exit interview, Ainge said that the Utah Jazz are “ready to go big game hunting,” meaning, they’re looking to acquire an NBA All-Star-caliber player in his prime.
“We’re not really interested in dinosaurs. We’re interested in like, good six or seven-year guys, those are good players,” Ainge said via Sarah Todd of Deseret News. “I’m not saying that we wouldn’t go get some veteran players for a short-term fix while we buy us some time. But that’s not as likely.”
“We felt like we were close (on a trade) once in this process that would’ve changed the dynamic of our team immediately, but that hasn’t happened,” he added.
The Utah Jazz have already started their offseason plans
The Utah Jazz have taken steps to retool their organization, and they started by hiring Avery Bradley as their new Vice President of Player Development. Avery Bradley never officially announced his retirement as a player, but he hasn’t been on an NBA roster since 2022.
Although Bradley doesn’t have any prior front-office role, his wealth of NBA experience will come in handy for guiding their young talents like Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, Walker Kessler , and Lauri Markkanen.
Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton were the Utah Jazz’s leading scorers this season at 23.2 and 18.7 points per game, respectively. Keyonte George, meanwhile, emerged as one of the best rookies in his draft class, with averages of 13.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Because they have one of the worst records in the league this season, the Utah Jazz have a 26.3 percent chance to land the top-four pick and a 6.0 percent chance to get the no. 1 pick, according to CBS Sports, which they can use to add to their young core or as a trade chip.
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