The Jazz have exercised a crew choice on head coach Will Hardy‘s contract, in line with a press release issued by the membership.
A former assistant in San Antonio and Boston, Hardy was employed by Utah in 2022 to switch Quin Snyder. The Jazz have a regular-season document of simply 68-96 (.415) since then and haven’t made the playoffs beneath Hardy, however the crew exceeded expectations within the first halves of each seasons earlier than the entrance workplace traded away veterans on the February deadline.
The Jazz — who traded away stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to jump-start a rebuild throughout the identical offseason that Hardy was employed — are evaluating the top coach’s efficiency primarily based on the job he has achieved growing younger expertise and establishing a constructive tradition throughout the group. By these measures, his first two years have been a hit, in line with common supervisor Justin Zanik.
“Will has achieved an incredible job of guiding our program and instilling the suitable values and aggressive habits with our younger group,” Zanik mentioned in a press release saying the choice. “The group seems ahead to growing with Will as we attempt for long-term success by way of strategic and deliberate development.”
Reporting on the time of Hardy’s hiring indicated that he was signing a five-year contract; updates from Chris Haynes and Michael Scotto Friday point out that the choice being exercised is Utah’s fourth-year choice for 2025-26. It’s potential Hardy really signed a four-year contract and the main points had been reported incorrectly again in 2022; the crew can also maintain an alternative choice for the 2026-27 season.
Both manner, Hardy is beneath contract in Utah for not less than the subsequent two seasons. If the membership’s younger core continues to take promising steps ahead in 2024-25, it appears comparatively protected to imagine he’ll be prolonged past 2026.
Hardy is the NBA’s second-youngest lively head coach, Scotto notes, having been born simply 5 months earlier than Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
