SALT LAKE CITY — Danny Ainge, who helped the Boston Celtics win two NBA titles as a player and another as a team executive, is the new CEO of the Utah Jazz.

Ainge stepped into his new role Wednesday. He was also named an alternate governor for the Jazz on the NBA’s Board of Governors.

“Joining the Jazz was a natural and perfect fit for me, as my roots in Utah are deep and strong,” Ainge said in a statement announcing his new position.

Ainge stepped down from the Celtics front office in June, just hours after they were eliminated from the postseason. He won championships with Boston as a player in 1984 and 1986 and took over as president of basketball operations in 2003. He was voted the league’s top executive in 2008, when Boston won its 17th championship – an NBA record that has since been matched by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Although he made one All-Star team and was the starting guard on two Celtics champions, Ainge’s greatest accomplishment in Boston was constructing a team led by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen that in 2008 ended the longest title drought in franchise history.

Since then, he has had success in the draft, especially with emerging stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But even with the addition of established stars like Al Horford, Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker, Ainge had not been able to build another championship team.

Ainge has longstanding ties to the state of Utah. He was a star at BYU, where he played from 1977 to 1981 and helped lead the team to an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament.

“Danny is one of the best basketball minds in the world and he’s also passionate about this state and our community,” said Ryan Smith, owner of the Jazz and the team’s parent company, Smith Entertainment Group. “We believe in adding the best talent to all facets of our organization and are lucky to have Danny’s acumen and experience.”

COVID-19 UPDATE: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are in the process of enhancing their health and safety protocols in response to rising coronavirus numbers around the league, said a person familiar with the negotiations.

Among the biggest changes: The league and the union are working to finalize a plan to return to daily testing for players and coaches, at least in the short term, said the person who spoke to The Associated Press Wednesday on condition of anonymity because nothing had been finalized or publicly announced.

Fully vaccinated players have not needed daily testing this season. The league and the union were already prepared to start daily testing on Friday for those who have yet to receive booster shots, and now may simply widen those plans.

The league has said about 97% of players are vaccinated, and just over 60% are boosted. But there were 33 players known to be in the league’s health and safety protocols as of Wednesday evening, along with two head coaches – Indiana’s Rick Carlisle and Sacramento interim coach Alvin Gentry – and a number of other staffers.

Among the big-name players currently sidelined: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brooklyn’s James Harden. The league has postponed two games this week involving the Chicago Bulls, who have a league-high 10 players in protocols.

“I’ve got a feeling we may go back to some of the stuff we did last year, which was clearly no fun,” Philadelphia Coach Doc Rivers said. “But we got through the season, so I guess that’s the sacrifice. If that’s what we have to do, we have to do it.”

HORNETS: Point guard LaMelo Ball has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols but will not play Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.