The assistant of the Boston Celtics, Will Hardy, has reached an agreement with the Utah Jazz to become the new head coach of the team, according to the journalist of The Athletic y ESPN, Shams Charania, and Adrian Wojnarowski. The latter noted that the contract covers the next five seasons.
Last Saturday, the middle Salt Lake Tribune He shared the information that indicated Hardy as the great favorite to fill that position, thus ahead of Kevin Young, current assistant in Phoenix and the other candidate who had most impressed the Salt Lake City organization.
Hardy understands yet another example of technicians who have grown up under Gregg Popovich’s aegis after coming to San Antonio in 2010 as an interim employee of the video department. Three years later he would rise to the position of video coordinator before joining Popovich’s coaching staff in 2015. Earlier this year he accepted the offer to join Ime Udoka’s coaching staff in Boston. He was also considered for the Sacramento Kings head coaching job.
This confirms the words of Danny Ainge himself, who stated in an interview with David Locke that he was looking for a young profile, with no experience as a head coach, to lead the new Jazz project. In this way, Hardy, at 34 years of age, becomes the replacement for Quin Snyder and the sixth coach in the history of the Jazz since they are located in Salt Lake City.
The other finalists for the position of head coachWojnarowski reports, have been Joe Mazzulla, Adrian Griffin and Alex Jensen, current assistants in Boston, Toronto and Utah, respectively.
(Update. 21:52. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that, in parallel, the Jazz have closed the incorporation of David Fizdale as associate general manager. Fizdale was part of the initial list of candidates for the coaching position. His link with Dwyane Wade may have been decisive).
(Cover photo by Jim Davis/Globe Staff)
