Utah Jazz
Head coach: Will Hardy
A few years ago, when the Utah Jazz made the decision to trade both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, it was clear that it was going to be the start of a long rebuild. Three years since the start of that rebuild, it's hard to look at the Jazz's roster and wins and losses and point to any real progression that they've made. In fact, over the past three years, you can argue that instead of getting better, this is a franchise that has done way too much regressing. At this point, you can't help but wonder what may be holding this team back.
While there was hope that head coach Will Hardy would be able to lead this team toward an exciting future, there's been some trouble with that playing out. In his third season with the team, the Jazz is on pace to finish with the worst record since he took over as the head coach. That's not exactly what you want to see from a coach who is supposed to be establishing a foundation for the future. Sure, the argument can be made that the front office has done Hardy little favors with the overall lack of talent, but there are still natural questions about whether he's the man for the future.
Why it's time for a head-coaching change: With how much the Jazz have struggled over the past two seasons specifically, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see the front office make the decision to pull the plug on the Hardy experiment. They took a flier on a young coach who didn't have a ton of experience and maybe the team elects to go a different route. It's extremely difficult to judge the Jazz or Hardy at this point but I'm sure there are already conversations taking place about his future with the franchise.
To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what the Jazz are doing. They should be rebuilding but continue to hold on to their veterans. Utah claims they're trying to rebuild around Lauri Markkanen but have done little to surround him with much talent. Even the young talent the team does have on the roster has left much to be desired. At this point, it's anyone's guess about what lies ahead for this team heading into the offseason. If I had to make a prediction on Hardy, I'd lean toward the Jazz moving in a different direction sooner rather than later.