The Utah Jazz made a move today, even if it didn't involve any players. Danny Ainge's son, Austin, will take over as President of Basketball Operations after spending 14 years in the Boston Celtics front office. There will be plenty of skepticism about this move because of suspicions of nepotism. However, Austin made a rather confusing promise about where he plans to take the Jazz.
Per KSL Sports' Ben Anderson, he had this to say to reporters about the prospect of the Jazz tanking next season after having done so this season.
Austin Ainge on how he views tanking with the @utahjazz:
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 2, 2025
"You won't see that this year." #TakeNote
The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen gave more context regarding what exactly he was asked when giving that response.
OC: "What is your philosophy on, for lack of a better term, to be indelicate: tanking, or manipulating minutes and player performance in order to achieve better lottery odds?"
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) June 2, 2025
Ainge: "You won't see that this year."
(figurative mic drop)
...What does that mean exactly?
He says the Jazz aren't going to tank, which, first off, is hard to interpret whether that's good or bad news. No one wants to watch a horrible product on the floor, but the Jazz have a pretty steep mountain to climb in the Western Conference, regardless of their intentions. If that's not problematic enough, the Jazz owe a top-eight protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2026.
Just because the Jazz aren't tanking, as Austin alludes to, doesn't mean they won't be bad next season. If anything, Austin's words can reflect on what may happen with the Jazz's veterans this offseason. It's been speculated that the Jazz could part ways with Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins. Maybe even Lauri Markkanen, too, but his trade value remains fuzzy.
Austin, perhaps, is saying this so that the NBA won't fine the Jazz like they did this season for resting Markkanen a little too blatantly in their tanking efforts. A different interpretation of his declaration is that tanking didn't really help the Jazz all that much, so they may as well try hard this upcoming season, as they could win the lottery in the same fashion Dallas and Atlanta did.
What could really scare Jazz fans is the notion that the team may go back to where they were from 2022 to 2024, where they won't be the worst team in the league, but won't make the play-in either. Fans didn't like that because it left the team directionless. After finally taking a direction, the Jazz didn't get what they wanted, but they're still happy about getting a high lottery pick.
It's been a difficult three years for the Jazz because it's still hard to grasp what lie shead for them. Austin claiming they won't tank should excite fans as it indicates he has a vision for where the team is going, but no one will know what that vision is exactly until the season starts.