Jazz coach Will Hardy ranked among top 10 NBA coaches

The Utah Jazz have not achieved much since the hiring of Will Hardy, but not one rational being believes that's on Hardy himself. Hardy's actually managed to squeeze more wins out of the Jazz than initially expected.

Despite the Jazz's overall lack of meaningful success over the past two seasons, Hardy's efforts haven't gone unnoticed. He's been impressive enough that CBS Sports' Sam Quinn ranked Hardy as the seventh-best coach in the NBA.

While calling Hardy one of the "Wunderkinds," Quinn explained why he ranked Hardy so high among NBA coaches.

"The past two Utah Jazz seasons have been the story of a coach preventing a general manager from tanking. He turned Lauri Markkanen into a star. He's built enormously successful lineups out of spare parts. He went 13-7 with his proper starting lineup, and then Danny Ainge traded Simone Fontecchio (and several important reserves) away, folding up yet another pleasantly surprising campaign."

Quinn then explained that Hardy's done well enough that he believes in how bright the Jazz's future is.

"He started his career on a rebuilder, but the brilliance is there if you're looking for it. The Jazz are prepared for every game they play. He mixes and matches his players and finds unorthodox lineup combinations that outperform their talent. In a few years, the Jazz will be where the Thunder are: loaded with talent and draft picks and getting Hardy in the Coach of the Year mix."

He ranked Hardy above Joe Mazzulla, Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, and Tom Thibodeau among others.

Is that ranking a little too generous?

Quinn's optimism is a great look both for Hardy and the Jazz because it signals that even if the wins won't come right away, their future is still very promising. However, though Hardy has undoubtedly impressed, he hasn't shown a whole lot overall because the Jazz haven't given him a roster designed to win.

That's why to tough to evaluate him because he has thrived (strictly speaking) while having little expectations. It's not his fault that some of the veterans on his roster like Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler have been floated in trade rumors.

Everyone will get to see what Hardy is made of when the Jazz have a winning roster he can work with. Luckily he has a long enough leash that he will likely have his job as head coach for quite some time.

The Celtics and 76ers did the same thing with Brad Stevens and Brett Brown respectively which led to vastly different results. Hardy's done enough that no one should consider him a bad coach in the slightest, but it seems a little overboard to suggest that he's done well enough that he's currently better than the coaches who have experienced much more success than him.