Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy to become next Utah Jazz head coach

Hardy has emerged as the frontrunner and should be closing in on a five-year deal shortly. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer.

SALT LAKE CITY — On Tuesday the Athletics Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that the Utah Jazz were closing in on a deal with Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy to become the organization’s next head coach.

Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy is closing in on a deal to become the next head coach of the Utah Jazz, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 28, 2022

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After an extensive search that involved roughly 15 candidates, the likes of which included Frank Vogel, Terry Stotts, Chris Quinn (Heat), Adrian Griffin (Raptors), Kevin Young (Suns) and Jerome Allen (Pistons) among others, Hardy has emerged as the frontrunner and should be closing in on a five-year deal shortly, which will make him the youngest active head coach in the league.

Before his time with Celtics, Hardy began his coaching career with the San Antonio Spurs as a video assistant under soon-to-be Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown.

After several seasons as the video assistant, Hardy was then promoted to Gregg Popovich’s bench, becoming yet another branch on Popovich’s coaching tree. He also served as the Spurs Summer League coach from 2015-18, worked for Team USA during the 2019 FIBA games, was a member of the coaching staff for the USA men’s basketball team that won the gold medal in 2020 and more recently helped lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals.

In addition to hiring Hardy as the new head coach, the Jazz have also hired David Fizdale to become an associate GM. After 18 seasons as a coach in the NBA, Fizdale will now transition to a front-office role with Utah.

The Jazz are making a hire to the front office too: David Fizdale has agreed to become an associate GM, sources tell ESPN. After 18 seasons as an NBA head and assistant coach, Fizdale will move into management and work closely with GM Justin Zanik and CEO Danny Ainge with Jazz.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022