Tag: Will Hardy

Celtics assistant coach Will Hardy among candidates for Charlotte Hornets head coaching job

Long seen as a likely head coaching candidate in the NBA, Hardy’s tenure with the Celtics might be for just one season.

When you assemble one of the best offenses and defenses in the league with your new coaching staff as a first-year head coach, you can expect to accrue some interest in the staff you did it with, and such seems to be the case for Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.

According to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, Celtics assistant head coach Will Hardy is among the pool of candidates for the head coaching gig that recently opened up with the Charlotte Hornets after that team let go of their previous head coach and fellow San Antonio Spurs coaching alumnus James Borrego was let go by the organization earlier this week after a disappointing end to the Hornets’ 2021-22 season.

Hardy has been seen as a likely head coaching candidate sooner than later, and it appears that sooner translates to now after just one season with the Celtics, yet to be completed with Boston still in the postseason mix and looking to be among title favorites.

Per Wojnarowski, Hardy’s competitors for the job include Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown, current Brooklyn Nets consultant and former Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, and Bucks assistant Charles Lee.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Mark Jackson, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, Steve Clifford among Kings early coaching candidates

Adrian Wojnarowski: ESPN Sources: The Sacramento Kings have secured permission to interview several assistants for their head coaching job, including Golden State’s Mike Brown, Brooklyn consultant Steve Clifford, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Charles …

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Jason Anderson @JandersonSacBee
League source confirms Mike Brown, Steve Clifford, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Will Hardy, Mark Jackson and Charles Lee are among initial list of coaching candidates who will interview with the Sacramento Kings. Job has generated strong interest, per multiple sources. – 4:12 PM
Sean Cunningham @SeanCunningham
Can confirm the list of head coaching interviews for the Sacramento Kings includes Mark Jackson, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Charles Lee, Steve Clifford, Will Hardy and Mike Brown. Am told by sources that list could change for this process driven & thorough coaching search. – 4:08 PM
James Ham @James_HamNBA
Kings will begin virtual interviews with coaching candidates next week. Confirmed that the initial list includes Mark Jackson, Steve Clifford, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, Charles Lee, Darvin Ham and Will Hardy. In person meetings expected after first round of Zoom interviews. – 3:57 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
Kings to interview Mike D’Antoni, Mark Jackson for head coaching job
sportando.basketball/en/kings-to-in… – 3:57 PM
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn
ESPN Sources: The Sacramento Kings have secured permission to interview several assistants for their head coaching job, including Golden State’s Mike Brown, Brooklyn consultant Steve Clifford, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, and Boston’s Will Hardy. – 3:49 PM
Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Kyle Neptune says he ‘got the call a couple days ago’ from Villanova AD Mark Jackson
Jackson says they considered ‘a number of candidates but it kept pointing back to Kyle’ pic.twitter.com/hJHP4HRIAX – 10:49 AM

More on this storyline

Shams Charania: The Sacramento Kings will interview Mike D‘Antoni and Mark Jackson for their head coaching job, among over a handful of total candidates, sources tell me and @sam_amick . Kings have done background on vast majority of available coaches and narrowed to small group. -via Twitter @ShamsCharania / April 22, 2022
The newcomer of the group, Sabonis has a completely different stance. That might be because he hasn’t been through this process before in Sacramento. “I would like to be part of it, talk to everyone and give them my input — what I think, what I’ve seen, what could work, what could help,” Sabonis said. -via Kings Beat / April 15, 2022

Mark Jackson, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, Steve Clifford among Kings early coaching candidates

My best read, at this juncture, is that …

My best read, at this juncture, is that Boston Celtics assistant coach Will Hardy could well be at the front of the line to succeed Popovich if Pop steps down this offseason and the club finds itself needing to make an immediate hire. With Becky Hammon off to the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces — she actually left the Spurs this week before the New Orleans game to start her new job — San Antonio wouldn’t face near the scrutiny or criticism it might have by selecting someone from the assistant ranks other than Hammon to take over.

Celtics assistant Will Hardy seen as possible successor for Gregg Popovich to coach Spurs

The sought-after assistant is a logical choice to step into the legend’s shoes once he steps down.

There was much excitement about the Boston Celtics hiring former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Will Hardy away from San Antonio to join fellow Spurs alumnus and current Celtics head coach Ime Udoka as one of Udoka’s assistants in Boston, but fans of the team might not want to get too attached to the former San Antonio assistant if Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer’s reporting proves especially prescient.

Fischer named Hardy among the top names circulating as rumored successors to long-time Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich in a recent article focused on that eventuality, citing the fact that the sought-after Hardy is “is a young understudy who learned at Popovich’s right hand, similar to how Jon Scheyer rose to replace Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.”

It’s no secret that the Spurs culture and Hardy’s part in it is a significant part of the reason why Udoka brought on the Celtics assistant to join him Boston — a team in need of a significant culture reset — and the franchise ought to do their best to take what he brings to the table to heart.

By all accounts Hardy will help this team considerably while he’s here, and given the interest that follows him around the league, that might not be too long.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Boston Celtics finalize Ime Udoka’s coaching staff

The Boston Celtics announced the 11 members of its coaching staff for the 2021-22 season, including four new assistant coach hires under new head coach Ime Udoka.

The Boston Celtics have finalized their coaching staff for the upcoming season, hiring six assistants and five player enhancement staff, according to a team release.

The new assistants that have been added to head coach Ime Udoka’s staff are Will Hardy, Damon Stoudamire, Ben Sullivan, Joe Mazzulla, Aaron Miles and Tony Dobbins.

The Celtics have also added Evan Bradds, Garrett Jackson, DJ MacLeay and Steve Tchiengang to its player enhancement staff as well. They also hired Matt Reynolds as a special assistant to the head coach.

Hardy has spent his entire coaching career with the San Antonio Spurs, including the last six seasons working as an assistant coach. He came on for them as a basketball operations intern and worked his way up. He also helped Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and served as the Spurs summer league head coach in 2017 and 2018.

Stoudamire has been the head coach of the University of Pacific men’s basketball team since 2016 after spending 13 years in the NBA. The No. 7 overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft is also a former Rookie of the Year.

Sullivan has been with the Milwaukee Bucks for the past three seasons, including their NBA title-winning 2021 season, and brings seven years of assistant coaching experience to Boston.

Miles will don the title of assistant coach for the first time at the professional level with Boston – he spent two years as an assistant for Kansas and Florida Gulf Coast, though. He has been the Golden State Warriors player development coach, a type of assistant coach but more focused on player development, and their G-League affiliate’s head coach before.

Dobbins and Mazzulla are set to return to Boston for their second and third seasons, respectively.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Celtics adding Spurs assistant Will Hardy to Udoka’s staff

Ime Udoka has started to build his coaching staff, starting with San Antonio Spurs assistant Will Hardy.

New Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has already began adding to his coaching staff.

Reported by Jay King of The Athletic, Udoka is adding San Antonio Spurs assistant Will Hardy to his staff.

Hardy has spent 10 years with the Spurs, starting as a video intern and video coordinator from 2010-15 before becoming an assistant coach on Popovich’s staff in 2015, Alongside sharing assistant duties on Pop’s staff for four seasons, Hardy also joined Udoka as an assistant on the Team USA coaching staff for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, giving him a head start creating relationships with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart.

Being the lead assistant for Pop over the last two seasons, Hardy has gained recognition around the league, interviewing for the New York Knicks job last summer.

Hardy is also somewhat of a local hire, playing his college ball at Division III Williams College.

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Brian Keefe and Will Hardy mentioned as potential Thunder head coaches

Slow and steady wins the race. Maybe that’s why the Thunder seem to be in no rush to fill their head coaching vacancy.

It’s been several weeks since Billy Donovan and the Thunder agreed to part ways, and since then, there’s been plenty of movement in the NBA with respect to head coaches.

Steve Nash was hired by the Brooklyn Nets, Doc Rivers took his talents to Philadelphia and Donovan himself was hired by the Chicago Bulls.

In both Houston and New Orleans, the likes of Ty Lue, Jeff Van Gundy and his brother Stan Van Gundy have been mentioned as potential torchbearers for those clubs, while things have been relatively quiet in Oklahoma City.

Enter Will Hardy and Brian Keefe.

As evidenced by the speculation as to what the future holds for Chris Paul and the team’s other veterans, the prevailing sentiment is that the Thunder will be fully embracing rebuilding. In that regard, it would make more sense for the team to find a young coach looking to cut his teeth than to spend big money on an established veteran looking to contend.

That’s probably why the Thunder haven’t been reported to have been involved in conversations with any of the more high-profile coaches — either Hardy or Keefe would seem to make much more sense.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the two are each among the candidates being considered for the post.

Keefe spent eight years as an assistant coach under Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City before leaving for an opening in New York. Keefe spent two years in New York before moving on to the LA Lakers, where he spent three seasons. He returned to joined Donovan’s staff before the 2019-20 season began and now, would seem a logical successor.

Hardy, on the other hand, is a Spurs lifer. He began with the franchise in 2010 and eventually joined Gregg Popovich on the bench as an assistant coach prior to the 2016-17 season. Among Popovich’s more famous assistants turned head coaches are Brett Brown and Mike Budenholzer, but the likes of James Borrego, Jim Boylen, Monty Williams and Jacque Vaughn are all fruits of the Pop tree, as well. Hardy could be next.

With the close connections between the Thunder and Spurs organizations, it would surprise nobody for Presti to hire Hardy to lead the team moving forward. On the other hand, Keefe has been an assistant with the franchise under two different head coaches and could make for a seamless transition. It could also be a benefit that Keefe has a year of experience with some of the club’s young talents including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

The one thing that seems certain at this point, though, is that the Thunder are not in a rush to fill the vacancy.

After all, slow and steady does often win the race.

Report: Thunder may be eyeing Spurs assistant for head coach vacancy

The Thunder have a vacancy on their bench, but a few names have emerged as potential options.

After five years as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Billy Donovan has officially taken his talents to the Windy City of Chicago.

As the Thunder prepare for an offseason that is expected to bring forth a lot of change, aside from potentially trading away some of the team’s veteran players, Sam Presti will also have to find a head coach for his rebuilding club.

Having well-established connections with the San Antonio Spurs, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Presti may reach back to his San Antonio roots to find his team’s next leader.

The Spurs have long been considered the NBA’s gold standard franchise, with Gregg Popovich’s staff becoming one of the league’s proving ground for future head coaches. Most notably, Mike Budenholzer — a two-time NBA Coach of the Year Award winner — sat next to Popovich on the bench for 17 years before getting his break with the Atlanta Hawks in 2015.

A similar story can be told of Brett Brown, who was Popovich’s assistant for seven years before being hired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2013.

According to Windhorst, Will Hardy — who has been an assistant on Popovich’s staff for four years — could wind up assuming the vacancy in Oklahoma City. He was mentioned by Windhorst as one of three candidates whose names have been making the rounds.

“The expectation is this could be a first-time head coach. Some of the names that I’ve heard, David Vanterpool, who’s an assistant with the Timberwolves, Adrian Griffin, who’s been a candidate for jobs over the years, recently with Toronto, and watch out for a sleeper candidate, Willy Hardy, an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, a lot of people are very high on him, very young, 32 years old.”

Although the commencement of the 2020-21 season is anyone’s guess, most front offices like to have new head coaches installed prior to the draft, as a coach is typically hired because they’re being entrusted to implement a system to maximize the talent on the roster. To that end, it makes sense for them to have some level on input with respect to which players to retain and what kind of player to go after.

Obviously, a team that is entering a rebuild wouldn’t necessarily have that same mindset, so making a quick hire, for the Thunder, might not be a priority.

Still, once a prospective coach’s name begins making the rounds, they typically get interviews and could wind up off the market, so if the Thunder are truly interested in Hardy, it may behoove the team to attempt to get him in for an interview sooner rather than later.