(Credit: Tess Crowley, Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY – Though they worked together for nearly two decades in Boston, team owner Ryan Smith wasn’t sure how Danny Ainge would react to the addition of Austin Ainge to the Utah Jazz front office.

The younger Ainge was named President of Basketball Operations in Utah on Monday, but was hired before his father, Danny, gave his stamp of approval.

Related: Austin Ainge Says Jazz Won’t Be Tanking In 2025-26

Smith Kept Ainge Hiring A Secret From Father

While reuniting the Ainges in Utah, where both father and son played college basketball, may have seemed like a slam dunk, Smith told Hans Olsen and Scott Garrard on 97.5 the KSL Sports Zone that he had a moment of anxiety after the decision to hire Austin was made.

“I couldn’t get a hold of Dann

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