The great commotion of the Jazz obviously does not only concern its players. After having remodeled half of the workforce and changed coaches, the Salt Lake City franchise has announced the return of a (very) old man, on the bench this time: Jeff Hornacek.
Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Quin Snyder gone… you don’t need to have Bac +7 to understand that Jazz wants to start fresh. By opting for a long-term project after the repeated failures of this team in the first and second rounds of the Playoffs, the Jazz needed to renew its coaching staff in order to go through with the expression “start from scratch”. Will Hardy, the former assistant of the Celtics, has therefore come to replace Quin Snyder, who left after nine years of good and loyal chess services to take the reins of this now very young Jazz team. Only Utah executives aren’t crazy, they know Will Hardy (34) will need help and experience on the bench and for that, they called on an old friend of the house, Jeff Hornacek to support him this season.
Jeff Hornacek is returning to the Jazz as a consultant to new head coach Will Hardy https://t.co/CZ4lv2QzQC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 15, 2022
This return to Salt Lake City is symbolic. In addition to having started his career as an assistant coach there, from 2010 to 2013, it was mainly in Utah that Jeff Hornacek spent the second part of his playing career, from 1994 to 2000. The one who was destined to being an accountant (yes) will play a major role there since he will notably be the team’s second best scorer from 1995 to 1998, with an average of 15 points, behind Karl Malone. He was partly responsible for the success of the Jazz of the time, which collapsed in the final two years in a row against Michael Jordan and his henchmen.. Hornacek is a historical figure in the franchise, and the leaders apparently see him as a good assistant coach to help young people (players and coach eh) to progress. Even if we think that it would be more useful in the corner to return filoches than on the bench.
Hornacek began his career as a head coach on the benches of the NBA in 2013 in Phoenix, and his debut was extremely encouraging for a rookie: second in the vote for coach of the year (behind Pop) and a season with 48 victories in the league. ‘Arizona. Unfortunately, and as everything goes so fast in the NBA, the poor guy gets fired for lack of results two seasons later after a cataclysmic start: 14 wins for 35 losses. Then it’s Phil Jackson himself who called on his services to guide the New York Knicks starting in the 2016-17 season. The Zen Master sees in Hornacek a coach who lets his players express themselves while respecting game systems. Result? Total fiasco: 60 wins in two seasons, thank you and goodbye Jeff.
So it’s the (great?) return of Jeff Hornacek to Utah. His help will not be too much for Will Hardy, thrown into the deep end of head coaches at the head of a team of young players, some of whom are… older than him. After a coaching career so far half-fig half-Knicks, Jazz fans are hoping he can help the franchise return to its former glory. Finally for that, it will be necessary to wait a few years… unless Talen Horton Tucker and Lauri Markannen are the new Stockton – Malone. Do we believe it? Clearly not.
Source texte : Basketball Reference