New Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy watches the Jazz play the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder throughout a Summer season League recreation at Vivint Enviornment in Salt Lake Metropolis on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Spenser Heaps, Deseret Information
San Antonio Spurs Summer season League coach Will Hardy speaks with Dejounte Murray throughout recreation in opposition to the Boston Celtics Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Salt Lake Metropolis. Rick Bowmer, Related Press
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich huddles with assistant coaches Tim Duncan, left, Becky Hammon and Will Hardy, proper, throughout recreation in opposition to the Orlando Magic Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. Phelan M. Ebenhack, Related Press
When the Utah Jazz brass employed 34-year-old Will Hardy to grow to be the ninth head coach in franchise historical past, they knew what was probably coming.
A rebuild was on the horizon, and over the previous couple of weeks, with the trades of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the rapid way forward for the Jazz has come into focus.
Hardy shouldn't be going to be teaching a crew of All-Stars which might be headed for playoff appearances and title competition. He’ll be teaching a shedding squad of younger gamers, lots of which could possibly be gone by the point the rebuilding course of takes a flip towards competition as soon as extra.
As an alternative of discovering a technique to win basketball video games and utilizing schemes and units to get an edge over the competitors, Hardy can have two primary targets — improvement and maintaining morale.
Simpler mentioned than completed.
Improvement is an apparent job and one that may largely be deliberate out with Hardy and the teaching employees working intently to determine which younger gamers can have what it takes to be both respectable NBA starters or function gamers. However that doesn’t imply that it’s going to be simple.
Studying curves are going to need to be managed and tailored to, and there are going to be hurdles alongside the best way. There may be additionally going to be thrilling moments, when gamers begin to present their potential and get away of their shells.
San Antonio Spurs Summer season League coach Will Hardy speaks with Dejounte Murray throughout recreation in opposition to the Boston Celtics Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Salt Lake Metropolis.
Rick Bowmer, Related Press
However the harder job is ensuring that the spirit of a rebuilding crew shouldn't be damaged by the method.
Dropping can take its toll on a crew and may simply harm the morale of younger gamers. Many of the rookies and younger prospects within the NBA are usually not far faraway from extremely adorned collegiate careers and successes, so that they aren’t used to shedding rather a lot. And make no mistake, the Jazz are going to be shedding rather a lot.
Think about going from taking part in a university season the place you end with a file of 34-6 and profitable a nationwide championship, getting drafted into the NBA and occurring to shedding practically twice as many video games as you gained in school.
That could possibly be the case for Ochai Agbaji, who was picked No. 14 general and simply traded to the Utah Jazz from the Cleveland Cavaliers within the deal for Donovan Mitchell. It’s laborious to go from being a winner, to being a loser.
It’s the job of a head coach in that state of affairs to ensure that the gamers are capable of acknowledge the developmental wins, even when the sport outcomes don't match up, and to see a much bigger image down the highway.
Once more, that is all simpler mentioned than completed.
The Jazz knew that this was going to be part of the job after they employed Hardy they usually signed him to a five-year cope with that data, so the Jazz possession and entrance workplace believe in Hardy.
What’s left is for Hardy to ensure he instills the identical kind of confidence within the gamers who can be on this journey with him.
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich huddles with assistant coaches Tim Duncan, left, Becky Hammon and Will Hardy, proper, throughout recreation in opposition to the Orlando Magic Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, in Orlando, Fla.
Phelan M. Ebenhack, Related Press