NBA: Utah Jazz set to appoint Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy as new head coach
NBA’s Utah Jazz is set to appoint Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy as its new head coach.
FollowAccording to reliable National Basketball Association (NBA) Insiders Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, the Utah Jazz has agreed to a top deal with Boston Celtics Assistant Coach Will Hardy. At 34, Hardy will become the youngest active head coach in the league. Hardy started his coaching career as a Video Coordinator at San Antonio Spurs. Eventually, he was promoted to an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich and became head coach for the Spurs’ summer league team. In 2021, Hardy joined Ime Udoka’s staff as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. After the Celtics’ finals appearance in the recently concluded 2021-22 season, Hardy was interviewed and hired by the Utah Jazz as Head Coach on a reported five-year contract.
In his report about the Jazz hiring Hardy, Wojnarowski said, “The Utah Jazz and Will Hardy have agreed in principle on a five-year deal making the former Boston Celtics assistant the franchise’s next head coach, sources told. Hardy was one of four finalists who met with ownership in Salt Lake this week, including Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, sources said.”
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“Hardy spent a season with the Celtics as an assistant coach under Ime Udoka, helping Boston advance to the NBA Finals. Hardy, who played at Division III Williams College, began his career as a video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs before being promoted to an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich,” added Wojnarowski.
“He also served as the head coach of San Antonio’s summer league team for four years. The Jazz is also making a front-office hire, as David Fizdale has agreed to become an associate general manager,” Wojnarowski concluded.
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The Jazz, led by new CEO Danny Ainge, conducted an extensive search that included at least 15 candidates to replace Quin Snyder, who resigned earlier this month. After taking over a rebuilding team, Snyder had a 372-264 record during his eight-season tenure in Utah, which has an active six-year postseason streak but did not advance past the Western Conference semifinals span.
