It’s free agency time in the NBA. This means a lot of franchises are looking to spice up their teams with player acquisitions. However, they are not the only ‘commodity’ on the market. Some teams are out prowling for their head coaches and staff members which will further bring stability to their franchise. The Utah Jazz has stepped in that direction by signing Will Hardy.
Will Hardy and the Jazz are finalizing a five-year contract to make him the franchise’s next coach, sources tell ESPN. Hardy, 34, will be the youngest active coach in the NBA. https://t.co/uISUNbadGJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022
The last time the Utah Jazz even came close to being ‘contenders’ was in 2006, almost 2 decades ago. Since then, they have played out seasons of mediocrity and less than satisfactory performances. In the last 6 seasons, they have not been able to get out of the 2nd round. Even though they have an all-star caliber duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, it has not been enough to get them over the hump.
Utah Jazz signed Will Hardy to take over the reins of the franchise
In the 2021-22 NBA season, the Utah Jazz won 49 games and lost 33. That placed them as the 5th seed in the Western conference. They finished the season with the best offense in the NBA and top 10 in defensive efficiency rating. Even though Rudy Gobert did not continue his run of picking up DPOY he was still in the running with a stellar showing in the regular season.
But the Jazz turned out to be posers. They were humbled by the Dallas Mavericks that beat them in 6 games. They lost game 5 and game 6 in a row to see their season come down crumbling. Donovan Mitchell led the team in scoring with 26 points per game, followed by 4 others who averaged double-digit points per game, making it the only bright spot from the season.
Will Hardy came into the NBA through an internship opportunity with Gregg Popovic and the San Antonio Spurs. He rose through the ranks and became one of Pop’s most trusted men for the job. He was also cited at the next ‘Gregg Popovic’ and everyone in the league took notice of that.
“If I wanted the post-ups or pick-and-rolls or to know why we sucked at something last night, he’d come in and say, ‘Well, look, this is what they did.’ He’d break it down for me.”
He then followed Ime Udoka to Boston Celtics last season as an important role in the coaching staff. The Celtics making the NBA finals further enforced his case. Even through all of this, he was considered the best up-and-coming coach in the league. Hence, this signing by Utah Jazz has been considered the biggest win for their franchise in a while.