The Utah Jazz are finalizing a five-year deal with Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy to make him the franchise’s next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Hardy, 34, will be the youngest active coach in the NBA.
Hardy was one of four finalists who met with owners in Salt Lake this week, including Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, sources added.
The Jazz, led by new CEO Danny Ainge, conducted an exhaustive search that included at least 15 candidates to replace Quin Snyder, who resigned earlier this month. After taking over a rebuilding team, Snyder went 372-264 during his eight-year tenure in Utah, which has an active six-year postseason streak but did not advance beyond the Western Conference semifinals. in that period.
Hardy spent a season with the Celtics as assistant coach to Ime Udoka, helping Boston advance to the NBA Finals.
Hardy, who played at Division III Williams College, began his career as video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs before being promoted to assistant coach under Gregg Popovich. He also served as the head coach of the San Antonio Summer League team for four years.
The Jazz are also making a front office hire, as David Fizdale has agreed to become associate general manager, sources told Wojnarowski.
After 18 seasons as an NBA head coach and assistant coach, Fizdale will transition to manager, working closely with Ainge and general manager Justin Zanik.
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Sources: Will Hardy will be new Jazz coach