Utah Jazz Hire Has Fans Crying “Nepotism!!”

Shower Thought - June 3, 2025

Audio Transcript

All I do on the weekends is watch Diners Drive-ins and Dives.

I could watch 30 episodes straight!

I love seeing the town folk tear into the mile high meat loaf in Castle Dale, Colordado, or Pork and Chive dumplings at Dump City Restaurant in Bend Oregon. There's nothing better.

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And at some point, while the guy's making his legendary Country Fried Steak, Guy Fieri asks him about the history of the restaurant and the guys like, oh my grandparents started it in 1954 after my pop pop got back from Korea, and then my dad took it over and now me...and I'm never like Nepo baby! You only got that job because of your dad!

That's kind of how I feel about Austin Ainge getting hired by the Jazz.

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His dad Danny built the "Ainge" brand over 20 years as an NBA exec. Great talent evaluator, drafter, negotiator. Winning in Boston by getting KG and Ray Allen by trading picks. Ripping off the nets, trading off the Markelle Fultz #1 pick to get Jayson Tatum! Keeping Boston a contender every year.

The name Ainge means something to every NBA front office person in the NBA. He's getting old and he's handing off the family business to his son Austin. You can pass down how to be a good NBA Exec to your kid much easier than you can pass down being a good NBA player. Austin Ainge was a good player at BYU but wasn't good enough to make the NBA. But giving him years of training in the NBA exec world is like a diner owner giving his son training in the family business. Here are the recipes don't screw it up.

Is Austin getting the Jazz job because his last name is Ainge? Yes. Just like how Truett Cathy handed down the Chick Fil-A business to Dan Cathy. I haven't noticed that big of a difference in the chicken."