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The Utah Jazz rolled the dice this offseason when they hired longtime assistant Will Hardy as their head coach. So far, it looks as if the Jazz might have hit the jackpot.
With Hardy roaming the sidelines, the Utah Jazz have been one of the most impressive teams to start the season. The Jazz (9-3) currently find themselves atop the Western Conference. Given everything that took place this offseason, with the team dealing stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, it's been a remarkable development.
In 2015, the San Antonio Spurs hired Hardy on to be an assistant coach. During that time, Hardy started to generate buzz as a potential star in the making. He spent the next six years with the Spurs organization before eventually joining the Boston Celtics staff for last season.
On ESPN's "Get Up," NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski spoke about Utah's impressive start. Wojnarowski praised Hardy, shining a spotlight on his ability starting in San Antonio, where that team compared him to Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
"They have a young coach in Will Hardy, who very well could be, they used to call him their Spoelstra in San Antonio – 'He's our Spo' – the video-room guy who they just had big plans for and thought was going to be a star in coaching," Wojnarowski said. "And now Will Hardy has shown himself very quickly to be one of the brightest young minds in the league."
Utah Jazz look to build off impressive start
After an offseason that featured plenty of changes, Will Hardy has the Utah Jazz oozing with confidence. Heading into the season, the Jazz were expected to be a rebuilding franchise.
The Jazz hired longtime executive Danny Ainge during the 2021-22 season, hinting at the possibility of drastic changes on the horizon.
That idea began to manifest itself when the Jazz announced they were trading star big man Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. From there, the organization also traded superstar guard Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. After acquiring a plethora of future draft picks, it looked as if the Jazz were hitting the reset button completely.
In the midst of all that, the organization went out and hired a first-time head coach in Will Hardy. The 34-year-old joins current Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla as the league's youngest head coaches.
The Jazz have gotten outstanding play from a number of their new additions this season. The most notable involves veteran forward Lauri Markkanen. After being acquired via the Cleveland Cavaliers, Markkanen has played like an All-Star. He's averaging 21.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 52.9%.
The basketball world will watch closely to see if the Utah Jazz can keep up their impressive play. The team is set to take on the Atlanta Hawks (7-3) on Wednesday night in the first game of a three-game road trip.
