It's been almost two weeks since the Utah Jazz got their hearts broken from the NBA Draft lottery, and it still hurts. The Jazz got the No. 5 pick after enduring their worst season as a franchise. Because things aren't looking up, fans are losing faith in Danny Ainge, but even with things as bad as they are now, they shouldn't lose hope completely because Ainge has been here before.
Ainge came to Utah with a good reputation as an executive from his days with the Boston Celtics. He assembled a title team and had his fingerprints all over their most recent title in 2024. What many forget is that before all of that happened, Ainge was considered a terrible GM during his early days in Boston.
When Ainge took over the Celtics' front office in 2003, he saw the writing on the wall with their roster, so he traded one of their stars, fan favorite Antoine Walker, believing it was better to retool the roster than keep a treadmill playoff team. Sound familiar?
Ainge had the right idea in mind, but that didn't make the next few years for Boston any easier. The Celtics were far away from title contention. In fact, they were too good to be bad, but too bad to be good. Again, sound familiar?
It took four years for Ainge to put his plan into action, but that plan led to Boston getting worse. The Celtics tanked during his fourth year as GM, having the second-worst record in the NBA, lowlighted by an 18-game losing streak. What did they get for it? The No. 5 pick. The similarities are as silly as they are crazy.
Ainge made the most of the situation, as he acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen shortly after the Celtics' lottery disaster. The Celtics won a championship and still created a title window. It wasn't right away, and it only led to one title, but Ainge got them there.
Is there a Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen waiting in the wings for Utah? No, there isn't, but Ainge has shown he knows how to make the most of his situation. He showed just that when the Celtics moved on from Garnett and Allen.
Ainge's draft success is why Jazz fans should remain optimistic
Ainge had draft success before he assembled his lone title team in Boston, as drafting esteemed Jazz alum Al Jefferson led to the Garnett acquisition, and he then traded out of the lottery in 2006 to get Rajon Rondo, who turned into one of the draft class' best players.
That was before they moved on from the title team. After that was when Ainge showed the good eye he has for young talent. Everyone knows that the Celtics' foundation of their title was Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both of whom were Ainge picks, and both of whom were controversial picks at the time.
The Celtics took Brown No. 3 in a draft that many believed only had two elite prospects coming out. They then traded the No. 1 pick to get Tatum at No. 3. Besides them, Ainge is responsible for drafting Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Robert Williams III, Aaron Nesmith, and Payton Pritchard.
All of those players either heavily factored into the Celtics' success over the years or had success elsewhere. Ainge knows what he's doing when he evaluates, and now, the Jazz have a high lottery pick. The last time they had No. 5, it didn't end well, but Ainge has struck gold with high lottery picks before, and now he gets the chance to get the Jazz's next franchise player.
It is a shame that the Jazz didn't get lucky at the draft lottery, but Ainge's history should still make Jazz fans hopeful he'll find that core ingredient they need to build their next playoff contender. Whether that's via trade or the draft, Ainge has proven he's got the magic touch.