Hardy ready to rebuild Jazz as youngest coach
Will Hardy knew some of the inner workings of the Utah Jazz before being named the league’s youngest current head coach at 34.
Sure, it was in 2009, and he was just an intern.
Ahead of his final year at Williams College, he put in eight weeks in the business operations department, spending his mornings with the Jazz, afternoons helping the
Salt Lake Bees — a Triple-A
affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels — and evenings at the gym rehabbing from hip surgery.
One of Hardy’s initial assignments was to give tours of Vivint Arena, a building he had never entered before his internship. That didn’t hold him back — and his ability to adapt on the fly could now serve the Jazz well.
“Those [tours] were adventurous for sure,” Hardy said. “I was kind of learning the building as I went.”
Utah introduced Hardy, who was an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics, as its coach Tuesday. He’ll steer the ship as the team sails into a rebuilding process with All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell as cornerstone.
The change began when Quin Snyder stepped down in June after eight seasons, followed by trades that sent away three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and Royce O’Neale and brought in Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley. The team also collected an assortment of first-round NBA draft picks to use as building blocks.
Hardy is ready to embrace whatever direction Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik decide to take.
“I trust Danny and Justin,” Hardy said. “Their track record and their history speaks for itself. But they’ve been really open and communicative with me and collaborative throughout the process.”
Hardy’s coaching philosophy won Ainge and Zanik over during the interview process. Ainge said they put him through exercises to learn his approach to everything from scouting reports to player development plans.
Hardy beat out veteran NBA coaches Frank Vogel and Terry Stotts for the job during an extensive process that included final interviews with team owner Ryan Smith and minority owner Dwyane Wade.
ELSEWHERE
Suns: Phoenix resigned Bismack Biyombo on Tuesday after the veteran center gave them a lift off the bench last season. Terms of the deal were not announced.
Biyombo signed with the Suns on Jan. 1 and averaged 5.8 points on 59% shooting while grabbing 4.6 rebounds in 36 games. The Congo native has played 11 NBA seasons with Charlotte, Toronto, Orlando and Phoenix.
The 29-year-old has averaged 5.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots since being selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft by Sacramento.