Celtics adding Spurs assistant Will Hardy to new coaching staff

The Celtics are finalizing a deal to add veteran Spurs assistant Will Hardy to Ime Udoka‘s new coaching staff, reports Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a nice get for Boston and Udoka, who worked as a Spurs assistant himself from 2012-19. Hardy joined San Antonio’s video department in 2011 and was later promoted to the coaching staff in 2015, so he and Udoka have several years of experience working together.

Hardy and Udoka were also both on Gregg Popovich's Team USA staff at the 2019 World Cup. Udoka reportedly developed a connection with Celtics players Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart during that time with the U.S. national team, which helped earn him Boston’s head coaching job.

Hardy has some Massachusetts roots, as he played his college ball at Williams College. He coached several of the Spurs’ Summer League teams between 2015-18 and has also received some consideration as a head coaching candidate in the past, linked to the Pacers, Knicks and Thunder when they were conducting coaching searches in 2020.

There’s an expectation that the Celtics will continue to target experienced assistants to fill out their coaching staff in order to put first-time head coach Udoka in the best position to succeed.