Jazz HC Will Hardy Restarting In-Season ‘Been Difficult’ per Insider
Utah Jazz fans have seen this movie script before. For the second time in as many years, the Jazz’s front office pulled the plug on what was becoming a fun season. Despite being in striking distance of the play-in tournament, the Jazz traded three rotational pieces in Kelly Olynyk, Simone Fontecchio, and Ochai Agbaji for draft compensation.
It hasn't been pretty since the deadline deals. Utah is 1-6 since the change, including, most recently, a 27-point blowout loss to a mediocre Atlanta Hawks team minus Trae Young.
Can Utah flip the script with just 23 games left in the season? Jazz play-by-play announcer Craig Bolerjack addressed Utah's challenging season when he joined The Bill Riley Show on ESPN 700.
“Just when you think they’ve figured each other out, like last year with [Mike]Conley, [Malik]Beasley, and [Jarred Vanderbilt] Vando, you have to peel back the training camp book and say, okay, let's restart here,” Bolerjack said. “Not all the way to the beginning, but [Will Hardy] have to reintroduce some new concepts, and also, have new players and new positions that have to understand each other.”
It’s been a rough road for the rostered veterans. It also should be no surprise that there have been multiple reports shooting guard Jordan Clarkson will be traded this offseason. Clarkson is Utah’s most-tenured player and, at 31 years of age, doesn't have time to go through Utah’s rebuild.
Also, with Lauri Markkanen turning 27 in May, one has to wonder how frustrated he is with the roadblocks Jazz CEO Danny Ainge and GM Justin Zanik continue to put in his way. Markkanen has never made the playoffs, and patience could wear thin if the losses keep piling up. If Markkanen doesn't sign an extension this summer, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025.
Then there's second-year Jazz head coach Will Hardy, who has the difficult task of appeasing the rostered veterans while giving the rookies much-needed time to develop. Bolerjack touched on Hardy’s challenging job later in the conversation.
“For Will, it's been difficult. He's a good coach,” Bolerjack said. “He handles it as well as anybody I can imagine. but to restart for two consecutive seasons is a difficult task.’
Hardy probably doesn't get enough credit for his efforts over the last two seasons. It's clear that management and the veterans aren't on the same page, and it's Hardy’s job to juggle different agendas. Not everybody will be happy, and Hardy has done a fantastic job with the never-ending balancing act.
From this point of view, the ‘mini-tank’ never made sense. Letting off the gas when the playoffs are out of reach is one thing. But potentially damaging the culture to improve a few percentage points in the draft lottery is a disservice to fans and players.
Yes, there is that top 10 protected first-round pick that Utah could get back from the Oklahoma City Thunder this year, but it’s a debt that needs to be paid off, and nobody has a crystal ball of when that should be.
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