I blame AA. Between Collier and Harkless, the point guard position was an absolute non-issue. What kind of exec becomes so enamored with a Senior six foot nothing point guard that he trades up three spots giving up three second round picks when he all he had to do was stand pat and collect a skilled positionless full sized player in Kas or McNealey at #21. Since then, we’ve given up Sexton and a second for Nurkic, bought out Clarkson and turned John Collins into a second and two far lesser players. This is the same guy that as an exec in Boston, tried feverishly to sell Brad Stevens on trading Porzingis and Jrue for Lauri.
A recent Reddit post detailed how AA has gotten every position he ever had from Pop’s influence:
Austin Ainge’s entire career path has been paved by his dad, Danny Ainge.
- Southern Utah Assistant Coach (2007): His first coaching gig came under Roger Reid, a family friend who coached with Danny at BYU and the Suns.
- Maine Red Claws Head Coach (2009): The Red Claws were the Celtics’ G-League affiliate. Who was running the Celtics at the time? Danny Ainge.
- Celtics Front Office (2011–2025): He went from Director of Player Personnel to Assistant GM all while Danny was President of Basketball Operations.
- Utah Jazz President of Basketball Ops (2025): Now he’s heading up basketball ops for the Jazz, where his dad just so happens to be CEO.