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SALT LAKE CITY — Will Hardy admits he's kind of looking forward to getting tossed from a game for the first time.
He's nearly two complete seasons into his head coaching career, and he's never been sent to the locker room early. And that's something that has become a topic of conversation between he and the Jazz staff.
"I think it'd be fun," he said. "But the key, I think for me, would be avoiding any sort of activity that could result in a fine afterward. That's not what I want. You do it, it happens. I would like to do it in this building (the Delta Center). I think the crowd generally appreciates things like that, but we'll see."
If he wants to do it at home, he's only got two more home games left this season to make it a reality. No, he's not going to actively try to get ejected, but if the opportunity presents itself …
And it's not like his staff has been trying too hard to stop him from going after officials. Hardy has picked up eight technical fouls this season — usually with little resistance from his assistants on the bench.
"It's funny, you'll see around the league sometimes a head coach starts going at the ref and you see assistants jump up and grab them. No one grabs me," Hardy said with a smile. "It's almost like, 'Yeah, we're tired of him, too.'"
When it comes to talking with officials, Hardy does feel like he's in a unique spot. First off, he's on the younger side (both in age and experience) and it takes some time to build the proper rapport and respect with refs. Secondly, he doesn't have a player to fill the politicking void.
He explained it like this: "If each team has 100 units of fighting with the ref, some teams, their star player is doing 60, and then their secondary player's doing 20, and that leaves 20 for the coach. Our team, I've got like 95, and that's just the reality of it." Hardy said.
Lauri Markkanen was an All-Star last season, but he's a pretty reserved guy and has never gotten much of a star whistle. Jordan Clarkson is Utah's other big name, but he rarely plays the political games with the refs.
So Hardy is left to take most — if not all — of the slack.
"I've explained this to the officials this year and they're great about it," Hardy said. "They also understand it comes to the territory. It's my job to fight for the guys, it's never personal. I never end up in a spot where I feel like the referee and I have a bad relationship. Some of the guys who've given me the most technicals are guys that I have the best relationship with, but it's just part of the job.
"I think it would be weird if I just stood there and our team never really said anything to the ref and I never really said anything to the ref and the other team is constantly sort of politicking with them about what's going on in the game."
As for the eight technicals, Hardy said he probably deserved a few more.
"Generally, you get them when you say bad words. I try not to curse very much," he said. "I think I can get my point across without cursing, but sometimes it comes out. Yeah, I don't really know what else to say. I'll probably get one tonight (Tuesday) now that you say that."
There were two technical fouls called in Utah's loss to the Cavs on Tuesday, but both were on Cleveland players. Hardy is still waiting for his first ejection.
