Danny Ainge is the leader of the rebuild in Salt Lake City, hoping to take the Utah Jazz to the next level and finally win an NBA Championship. The squad hasn't been to the NBA Final since the late 1990s and the hope is that Ainge, the team's CEO, can help get the squad there. Backed by General Manager Justin Zanick and Head Coach Will Hardy, the trio are the ones who are on the hot seat if things don't turn around.
As far as championship builders go, Ainge is only known for one, the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics, whom he got a title with after trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Since then, nothing. He's had some good squads and has a decent eye for the draft, but this best success comes from recruiting major stars to his teams.
Something he's hoping to do again this offseason, as he's promised to go "big game hunting" for major talent. Yet, fans are a bit jaded. They've sat through two losing seasons, while also having the rug pulled out from under them as both losing seasons had the promise of winning resonating from them.
The Jazz have been under Ainge's control now for three full seasons, with a fourth about to begin. He's had one playoff appearance since joining and traded away every major name the team has had, save for Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton. So people are getting a bit fed up. One Twitter/X user asked today how long should we give the front office to turn things around before calling it a day on the current regime.
That user essentially gave them a window of three more years. We're not going to be so forgiving. The Jazz have had three seasons to make something happen and they've yet to do so. They're sticking in this in-between stance of competing and rebuilding, and now Ainge is promising big things.
If he fails this offseason to live up to his word, then the Jazz should move on from him. While the free agent market isn't great, the trade market is deep with potential. The Jazz will not have a better opportunity to improve the team quickly as they will this season.
Sure, you could still make waves next season, or the season after, but the best chance to turn those trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchel into something is this offseason. Anything short of a major, and fairly young player coming aboard would be seen as a failure.
The draft pick compilation, the money, and the tradable assets are all there for the Jazz to capitalize on.
If Ainge fails this season, with the cache of recourses at his disposal, what makes anyone think he can pull anything off with fewer resources to play with?