{"id":712026,"date":"2026-04-16T22:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T22:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712026\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T22:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T22:09:44","slug":"a-winning-team-could-bring-out-a-different-side-of-jazz-coach-will-hardy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712026\/","title":{"rendered":"A winning team could bring out a different side of Jazz coach Will Hardy"},"content":{"rendered":"

For four years, Will Hardy has been coaching the Utah Jazz with one hand tied behind his back<\/a>. So it stands to reason that when he is released from all restraints, as he will be next season, we\u2019ll see a side to him that has yet to reveal itself.<\/p>\n

Hardy isn\u2019t willing to admit that he\u2019s going to be any different. He has coached players hard and attempted to demand a standard of effort and understanding. He has tried to maximize the potential of each of the players who has worn a Jazz jersey and has shown almost every angle of his personality to his players.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

But, Hardy isn\u2019t able\/permitted\/allowed to say that the Jazz have been outright tanking for four years. He can\u2019t say that he has made lineup decisions to alter the outcome of a game. He can\u2019t say that the decisions of his superiors have changed the way that he has coached. He can\u2019t say that he has had a different approach, knowing that the result of a game doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

\"0110bknjazz.spt_RG_00206_1.JPG\"Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy, right, frowns while talking with Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, center, and CEO Danny Ainge, left, during game against the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News<\/p>\n

Frankly, Hardy might not realize how much he\u2019s been held back over the last few years. He\u2019s spent a long time in the NBA on coaching staffs but as an NBA head coach, the only thing he\u2019s ever known has been this rebuilding team. Coaching a team that is built to try to contend in the Western Conference will be a wholly new thing for him.<\/p>\n

After some needling, Hardy was willing to concede a bit, suggesting that he might be a little more intense, depending on the situation.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dosage may be different on certain things,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel like I\u2019m pretty open and honest with the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s probably not a player on the Jazz roster that understands Hardy\u2019s honesty more than Keyonte George<\/a>. The third-year guard has seen everything from Hardy \u2014 hard coaching, criticism, anger, frustration, pride, encouragement, understanding, competitiveness, exasperation, resignation, annoyance and love.<\/p>\n

\"Jazz<\/p>\n

Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy, left, talks to guard Keyonte George (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, March 31, 2025. | Nell Redmond<\/p>\n

Even so, George is convinced that Hardy is going to show a new side of himself next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, absolutely,\u201d he said with a knowing laugh and shake of his head. \u201cWill is already a maniac and he\u2019s gonna have his moments. But I know Will, and I know he wants the best for us, so whatever that looks like from Will \u2014 I know there\u2019ll be a lot of screaming and yelling \u2014 it\u2019s gonna make us great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Players are expected to make leaps and change when they grow and are introduced to new situations and circumstances. Some players pride themselves on staying even-keeled throughout their NBA careers, but even the most stoic show a more ferocious and unrestrained side when they are pushed to be better and do more and when they are winning at the highest level.<\/p>\n

The same can be true of coaches, across all sports and at all levels. I don\u2019t care who you are, there\u2019s a difference when the stakes are low compared to win every possession, every game, everything matters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be different when Hardy is being judged just as much as the players for the on-court product. It\u2019s going to be different when Hardy has complete control of the roster, the minutes, and is responsible for the results.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s exciting to think that there is something more that we will be seeing from Hardy. After four years of waiting, fans will not only be able to root again for wins over losses and cheer for something positive, but they will finally get to see, who Will Hardy is \u2014 every side of him.<\/p>\n

\"WillUtah Jazz head coach Will Hardy reacts to a play against the Golden State Warriors<\/a> during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 9, 2026, in Salt Lake City. | Rob Gray<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For four years, Will Hardy has been coaching the Utah Jazz with one hand tied behind his back.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[224,7,473,164,955,6,53785,4315,427,4676],"class_list":{"0":"post-712026","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-ace-bailey","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-charlotte-hornets","11":"tag-golden-state-warriors","12":"tag-keyonte-george","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-rob-gray","15":"tag-salt-lake-city","16":"tag-utah-jazz","17":"tag-will-hardy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116416674934673495","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}