Jazz Mailbag: With Ainge Addition, Who Does What In Front Office?

SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where this week we look at the responsibilities of the newly minted front office.

Each week, we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.

Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s Jazz mailbag.

Related: Jazz Hire Austin Ainge As President of Basketball Operations

Jazz Mailbag: Who Does What In The Jazz Front Office?

Can you clarify the Job Descriptions between Danny, Austin Ainge, and Justin Zanick? I am so confused by what each of their positions are!

— Sarah 🎷🏀🏈 (@roxy_sbh) June 2, 2025

Question: Can you clarify the job descriptions for Danny Ainge, Austin Ainge, and Justin Zanik? I am so confused by what each of their positions are!

Answer: It is an understandably confusing arrangement within the Utah Jazz front office, but that isn’t to say it’s unique.

Across the 30-team NBA landscape, you won’t find two front offices that operate the same way, even if teams tend to have executives with similar titles.

For example, some teams have CEOs whose function is to oversee game, building, and sales operations, but have very little to do with basketball decisions.

But in the Jazz’s case, Danny Ainge, the team’s CEO, had been the primary decision maker on the basketball operations side, but didn’t operate within the corporate operation of the team.

Done with tanking?

New @utahjazz President of Basketball Ops Austin Ainge said you won’t see the team tanking next season.

But, can the Jazz have their cake, and eat it, too?#takenotehttps://t.co/sUALR24RiG

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 3, 2025

So, let’s clarify where each Jazz figurehead has a specialty, and where they share responsibilities.

Beginning at the very top, team owner Ryan Smith gets the final say on any decision the team makes, both in basketball and non-basketball operations for the organization.

However, from my understanding, Smith has placed enormous trust in the Ainges and Zanik to make basketball decisions, and while he offers input, he’s not one to interfere with their recommendations.

That’s different from an organization like the Phoenix Suns, where owner Mat Ishbia appears to be meddling in roster-building decisions, with somewhat disastrous consequences.

Having spoken with Smith multiple times throughout his tenure as the team’s owner, it’s clear he has real basketball acumen, including the interworkings of roster construction, but understands the value of letting his top executives make the most important decisions.

Regarding order of decision making with in the new @utahjazz front office under Austin Ainge:

Ryan Smith said, “Austin will be running the program. He’s got final recommendation to myself on any decisions that need to be made.”

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 2, 2025

Until Monday, Danny Ainge has had the highest-ranking voice within the team’s front office regarding player movement, including trades, free agency, and draft picks.

Ainge assumed the role of CEO in 2021, but as I’ve gathered, may have taken on more responsibility over the last four years than had been originally planned.

Though Ainge was always assumed to have the final recommendation on player movement, he wound up having more day-to-day duties, including team travel and amateur scouting, both stateside and internationally.

Working alongside Ainge was general manager Justin Zanik, who shared in the responsibilities of team building but operated on the front end of transactions, rather than making the final decisions for the front office.

Zanik has been the architect of many of the Jazz’s biggest moves during their rebuild, including fielding trade calls for Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, while also utilizing his knowledge as a former player agent to design contracts.

With more than a decade of experience with the team, Zanik is involved in scouting, including several international trips a year, but also spends significant amounts of the season traveling with the team throughout the NBA schedule.

Neither Zanik’s role nor title will change with the newly added Austin Ainge, though who he reports to will be different.

Smith described the differences between Zanik and the newly added Ainge in Monday’s press conference.

“If you think about the skill set that Austin has, and [Zanik]’s skill set, they would actually work really well,” Smith said. “Austin came up from player, coach, heavily, heavily in the scouting and talent evaluation and roster construction, and [Zanik] came up as an attorney, or lawyer, then into talent, much more managing players on that side.”

The younger Ainge, now the President of Basketball Operations, will be recognized as the leading man within the Jazz front office, and the direction of the team will largely reflect his values.

As Smith said in Monday’s press conference, “Austin will be running the program. He’s got final recommendation to myself on any decisions that need to be made. I think it’s the job of both Justin, Danny, and myself to plug into him.”

Jazz Mailbag: Should Jazz Trade Out Of The Fifth Pick?

That means the player, or players, the Jazz select in this month’s NBA Draft will have been hand-picked by Austin Ainge, with the input of Zanik, the elder Ainge, and the team’s scouting staff, including assistant GM Shane Fenske and lead scout Shawn James.

Additionally, the younger Ainge will have final say on the team’s offseason construction, including trades and free agency signings.

That will allow Danny Ainge to choose his spots where he feels he can be most valuable to the team, without the same day-to-day responsibilities, while filling in any holes that the new front office may have.

As of now, there aren’t any further front office changes on the way, but with the ever-evolving nature of the NBA, additional moves are inevitable, which could once again reshuffle the duties of the team’s executives.

Want to ask questions in next week’s Jazz mailbag? Give us a follow at @kslsports.

Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.

Ben Anderson is the author of the Jazz Mailbag, a Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports, the author of the Jazz Mailbag, and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky. 

Follow @benshoops