Will Hardy recently made comments to the media that seem to indicate that some major changes were coming to the Utah Jazz? The Jazz is 4-11 and one of if not the worst teams in the league right now. The team is plagued by selfish play, incompatible defensive components, and a head coach who doesn't seem to have any urgency to make changes to the team.
The Jazz are a team that is constantly searching for an identity, one that may be better served by not having Jordan Clarkson as their number two player. The shooting guard has done that and only that throughout the season, putting up some of the worst shooting performances of his career while trying to be the team's running buddy next to Lauri Markkanen.
Yet, his inconsistent shot and nonexistent defense are killing the team's chances of winning each and every night. His poor play on both ends of the court is really only overshadowed by his chronic turnover problem. Anyone with two eyes would've sat him down weeks into the season after a handful of games. After all, we know Clarkson can be a big factor off the bench as a sixth man, but for some reason, Hardy keeps feeling the need to force him as a starter and let him shoot at will.
Until now, it appears. Hardy has heavily implied in his recent post-game presser that changes were coming to the team. Hopefully. One of those would be to sit Clarkson and see what a starting lineup of Keyonte George, Ochai Agbaji, Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Kelly Olynyk/Walker Kessler can do (depending on when Kessler returns.
And it may work but even if it does, the faith in Hardy is shaken to its core. He allowed this once promising unit, whom many saw as a s potential playoff team, to fall on their faces coming out of the gate. Yes, we are only 15 games into a potential 82-game season, but what are the odds the Jazz can rebound from this start to finish above .500?
This has shown many fans that Hardy isn't' willing to make the big calls when it comes to bettering the team, but who knows, maybe this is on Danny Ainge. The right call was to sit guys like Clarkson on the bench weeks ago, and send Talen Horton-Tucker to the end of the bench where he couldn't cause any more damage.
But with Horton-Tucker, Clarkson, and Olynyk being three of the Jazz's biggest trade chips this season, maybe the call came on high to feature them as much as possible in order to get better offers for them. If that was the case, all it cost was Hardy's public image and a realistic season where the Jazz could've been in the playoffs.
It may not have been worth it in the end, if that was what was happening behind the scenes.
The Jazz could turn it around, go on a hot streak and get back into playoff contention; that's very possible but it's just not likely. The idea that Hardy is now going to make changes makes it feel very much like "too little, too late". The changes, should they be made, could work, but the damage has been done and it doesn't look like the team has the talent to dig themselves out of this hole this season.