The Boston Celtics coaching situation has been the main talking point surrounding the team this season, largely due to starting the season with an interim head coach in Joe Mazzulla in the immediate aftermath of the Ime Udoka situation.

The Celtics have since promoted Mazzulla to head coach and gave him a contract extension to go along with it, a three-year deal worth $14 million, giving him the assurance that he will be the head coach of this team moving forward.

By making the decision to keep Mazzulla, the Celtics avoid bringing in a fourth head coach in four years, which I think is an important thing to note here.

When it comes to the Celtics coach, however, NBA insider from The Ringer, Kevin O’ Connor believes Boston missed an opportunity when it comes to Will Hardy, as he believes he’s a top ten coach in the NBA.

“They win the championship with Will Hardy. I think Will Hardy, what he showed in Utah, all of those qualities that [Erik] Spolestra has. That flexibility with scheme, with maximizing the talents of players on his roster, adaptability. That Utah team over the course of the year, they played so many different ways and just maximized so many different guys. I was blown away by what the Jazz did. I think he’s already one of the top ten coaches in the league.”

Will Hardy was hired by the Utah Jazz in 2022 before the Udoka situation unfolded. He led the Jazz to a 37-45 record after being the top assistant in Boston under Udoka last year. It’s fair to say that he would’ve been named head coach of the Celtics if he was still in Boston at the time.

The Celtics are sticking with Mazzulla and will look to rebuild their coaching staff around him.

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