Celtics assistant Hardy to coach Jazz
Celtics assistant Will Hardy accepted an offer to become the coach of the Jazz and the two parties were in the process of finalizing contract language, according to reports Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Hardy will become an NBA head coach for the first time. He replaces Quin Snyder, who decided to leave the Jazz earlier this month after eight seasons.
Hardy spent one season with the Celtics. His previous 11 seasons were spent with the Spurs, starting as a basketball operations intern, moving into the video room and eventually becoming an assistant under all-time wins leader and five-time NBA champion Gregg Popovich.
Hardy also assisted Popovich during USA Basketball’s appearances at the 2019 Basketball World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Hardy left the Spurs to work for another former Spurs assistant, Ime Udoka, who took the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first season as a head coach.
And given the success of the Popovich coaching tree in the NBA, it’s no wonder the Jazz decided Hardy was the right hire.
Consider the roster of current NBA and WNBA coaches who have played for, worked for, coached under Popovich, or some combination thereof.
The Warriors’ Steve Kerr just won his fourth title as a coach — beating Udoka, Hardy and the Celtics in that series — and ninth championship overall. Mike Budenholzer led the Bucks to the 2021 NBA title. Monty Williams guided the Suns to the NBA’s best record this season and made the finals last year. Taylor Jenkins led the Grizzlies to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference this season. The 76ers’ Doc Rivers guided the Celtics to an NBA title, the Kings’ Mike Brown went to the NBA Finals in his second season as a head coach for the Cavaliers and Becky Hammon has the Aces off to the best start in the WNBA in her first season.
The Jazz were the only team in the NBA with a coaching vacancy and became the fourth team to complete a hiring since the regular season ended. The Kings hired Brown, the Lakers hired Darvin Ham and the Hornets brought back Steve Clifford for a second stint.
The Jazz are one of three teams to make the playoffs in each of the last six seasons.
NFL: The Commanders and WR Terry McLaurin agreed to terms on a new threeyear contract worth up to $71 million with roughly $53 million guaranteed, according to reports. The deal includes a $28 million signing bonus, the highest signing bonus for a receiver. McLaurin, 26, has 222 catches for 3,090 yards and 16 TDs in 46 career regular-season games — all while playing with eight different QBs.
NHL: The Lightning announced that All-Star center Brayden Point’s injury that forced him to miss 10 games during the playoffs was a quad tear. Point, who played in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final before sitting the rest of the series, is expected to be OK in a couple of weeks.
Soccer: U.S. goalkeeper and Manchester City backup Zack Steffen is expected to join English Championship side Middlesbrough on loan through the 2022-23 season, ESPN reported. Steffen, 27, signed with Man City in 2019 but has appeared in just two Premier League matches . ... Manchester United agreed in principle to pay Barcelona a transfer fee of at least $68.4 million and up to $84.1 million with incentives to sign Frenkie de Jong, ESPN reported. The 25-year-old Dutch midfielder had three goals and three assists in 30 La Liga matches last season.