NBA Rumors: Jazz hiring Celtics assistant Will Hardy as head coach

It didn't take long for one of Ime Udoka's assistants to land a head coaching job of their own.

Will Hardy, who joined the Boston Celtics' coaching staff last summer, is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the Utah Jazz, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.

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Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy is closing in on deal to become the next head coach of the Utah Jazz, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 28, 2022

Charania adds that C's president-turned-Jazz CEO Danny Ainge underwent an "extensive" coaching search that included former head coaches, top assistants, G League coaches and former players, and Hardy stood out above the rest. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla was among the finalists for the job.

Hardy was among a group of finalists -- including Celtics assistant Joe Mazzulla, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Jazz assistant Alex Jensen -- who met with ownership in Salt Lake City this week, sources said. https://t.co/D25j62QP6n
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2022

Wojnarowski reports it will be a five-year contract for Hardy, who will become the youngest active NBA head coach at 34 years old.

Despite his age, he has plenty of experience as he learned under legendary head coach Gregg Popovich for several years on the San Antonio Spurs. The Williams College product was the Spurs' video coordinator from 2013-15 and spent four seasons as an assistant on Popovich's staff. He served on Team USA's coaching staff alongside Udoka at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.