NBA Rumors: Celtics Assistant To Be Considered For Jazz Coaching Job

Another NBA head coaching job opened up Sunday, and the void potentially could be filled by a current Celtics staffer.

A few hours before Game 2 of the Finals, ESPN’s Wojnarowski reported Quin Snyder intends to step down as head coach of the Jazz. Snyder, who held the job for eight years, led Utah to its sixth consecutive playoff appearance this season but watched his team suffer a first-round exit for the third time in four years.

Shortly after Wojnarowski broke the news, The Athletic’s Shams Charania followed up with candidates who could replace Snyder.

“Among initial candidates for Utah’s open head coaching job: Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen, former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Celtics assistant Will Hardy and Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin,” Charania tweeted.

Hardy is at the tail end of his first season as a Celtics assistant coach. The Williams College product first coached alongside Ime Udoka in San Antonio, where he worked on Gregg Popovich’s staff for four seasons. Hardy broke into the NBA as a video coordinator with the Spurs in 2013.

As for the Celtics, they will try to regain their lead in the Finals on Wednesday night when they host the Golden State Warriors for Game 3.