Month: May 2025

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Tusks up, Utah! The Utah Hockey Club has officially rebranded into its new official and permanent name: the Utah Mammoth.

The Smith Entertainment Group said the name was chosen by fans during a more than year-long process involving four rounds of fan voting that included more than 850,000 votes.

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch the official name and marks for Utah’s NHL hockey team,” said Ryan and Ashley Smith in a joint statement. “When it came to naming the team, we did something unprecedented – going through four rounds of community voting, including getting feedback not only on potential names but also potential logos. We love the passion of the people of Utah and the way they showed up for the team during its inaugural season and the energy they brought to voting on its permanent identity.”

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The Utah Mammoth will keep the color palette of Rock Black, Salt White and Mountain blue from the inaugural season, but will feature a new “Mountain Mammoth” primary logo on the chest and a Utah Badge on the shoulders. The away jersey will continue to have the inaugural UTAH stairstep design with the Mammoth featured on each shoulder.

Utah HC moves up to #4 pick in NHL Draft

Eager to get your hands on some merch featuring the new look? Good news. Smith Entertainment Group said a limited selection of first-run Mammoth merchandise, including shirts, hats, and hoodies, will be available at the Delta Center starting Wednesday, May 7.

Behind the name

According to the Smith Entertainment Group, the name selected by fans represents strength, momentum and an “earth-shaking presence.”

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Over the years, mammoth fossils have been found throughout the Beehive State, including near Bear Lake, Fillmore, Orem, Park City and Lake Powell. In 1988, a complete mammoth skeleton was found in Huntington Canyon.

“These massive, relient creatures stood over 14 feet tall, weighed up to 22,000 pounds, and used their curved tusks to dig through snow, fend off predators and thrive in Utah’s glacial terrain,” SEG said in a statement unveiling the new brand. “Evidence suggests mammoths charged in herds at speeds exceeding 25 miles per hour, comparable to the speeds reached by the fastest skaters in the NHL.”

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Dentists in Utah can tell rather quickly whether their patients grew up in the Salt Lake City area or in a different part of the state.

Salt Lake County, neighboring Davis County to the north and nearby Brigham City – home to about half of the state’s population – have been adding fluoride to the public drinking water for decades with local voter approval while other parts of the state generally have not.

“It’s pretty obvious. If I have new patients come into my practice, I can guess probably eight or nine times out of 10 if they’ve grown up in a fluoridated community,” said Dr. Darren Chamberlain, a pediatric dentist who practices a bit farther south in the state. “The reason I know is because, generally, they don’t have cavities.”

But that may soon change. Community fluoridation – considered one of the top public health success stories of the last century – has been banned in Utah, with a new law taking effect Wednesday. The change worries dentists and public health experts, who are concerned that it will lead to a rise in avoidable oral health issues, especially among young children from low-income families.

Fluoride is a mineral that can be found naturally in some foods and groundwater. It can help prevent tooth decay by strengthening the protective outer layer of enamel that can be worn away by acids formed by bacteria, plaque and sugars in the mouth. Adding fluoride to public water systems started in the United States in 1945.

The sponsor of the Utah legislation, Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, acknowledged fluoride has benefits, but said it was an issue of “individual choice” to not have it in the water. Discussions about financial costs of community fluoridation were also raised during legislative hearings in the state, as well as recent studies that raise questions about whether high fluoride levels negatively affect brain development in children.

The Trump administration has also ramped up scrutiny of fluoride, and US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that he plans to tell the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation for public drinking water in communities.

Utah is the first state to pass a law banning public water fluoridation, and Kennedy championed the move during his visit to the state last month.

“I think it’s a moral imperative that we all believe in freedom of choice in this country,” Kennedy said. “It is one of the bedrock principles of our democracy, and the government shouldn’t be making decisions, intimate decisions about our own lives.”

Other states are also considering the change or taking action; on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledged to sign a bill passed by lawmakers to ban fluoride in municipal drinking water statewide.

Public health advocates stress that the amount of fluoride added to public water systems is far below the amount that would pose any health risk and that there is stronger evidence that removing fluoride from public drinking systems causes harm.

Experts say it may take a few years for the consequences of the change in Utah to become apparent. One study of Medicaid claims from a city in Alaska shows that five years after community fluoridation ended, there was an average of one additional procedure to treat tooth decay per child. And a city in Canada recently voted to add fluoride back into the drinking water after seeing that local second-graders had significantly higher rates of cavities than those in a neighboring city that fluoridated its water.

Action is left up to residents

Health officials and other concerned groups in Utah have been working to get the word out about the change and share information about alternative ways parents can get the protective benefits of fluoride for their children or adults can get it for themselves.

On Friday, the Utah Department of Health & Human Services released guidance encouraging residents to talk to their dentist, doctor or pharmacist about fluoride supplements.

“While community water fluoridation will no longer be available, there are measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of developing cavities,” Dr. Stacey Swilling, state dental director, said in a statement. “We encourage Utahns to have regular checkups with a dentist or healthcare provider to make sure they are doing everything they can to protect their oral health.”

The Utah Oral Health Coalition, a volunteer group of dozens of oral health professionals and advocates, is also launching a public awareness campaign centered around the tagline “My Smile Matters.” It’s a comprehensive initiative focused on steps people can take to keep the teeth and mouth healthy, including regular dentist visits, regular brushing and flossing, and use of fluoride supplements.

“Half of our state will be losing water fluoridation. The other half has not had it. So for half of the state, the message is: ‘You no longer have water fluoridation. Our job has become a little harder, and here are things we need you to know,’ ” said Lorna Koci, program director and chair of the coalition. “To the other half of the state that hasn’t had it, it’s still a wonderful message: ‘Here are the things you need to do to really have good oral health.’ ”

The hope is to use a wide range of partners – including health departments, community clinics, hospital systems, insurance companies, dental schools and school districts – to get the message out in as many different ways and places as possible.

The coalition also plans to partner with local universities to develop a plan to track the impacts of the fluoride ban. The goal is to collect information that many advocates wish the state legislature had before passing the fluoride ban.

“When we asked the governor to veto this bill, we said we really don’t have the information that’s needed to make a decision of this impact,” Koci said. “We wish we had more data available.”

An insufficient alternative

The new law in Utah allows pharmacists to provide fluoride directly, without a prescription from a dentist or doctor. While this broadens access for some, experts say supplements are an insufficient alternative to community water fluoridation – and may create new risks.

Fluoride supplements tend to have poor compliance, said Dr. Scott Tomar, professor and associate dean at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry and the American Dental Association’s spokesperson on community water fluoridation. There’s a financial burden as well as a steep logistical burden that falls on the family to administer the supplement every day, he said.

“We’re all just dealing with lots of other demands in our in our daily routine. You’re talking busy parents of young children, expecting them to now add one more thing to their daily routine,” Tomar said. “We just know from experience that the families that would benefit the most from that are probably the ones least likely to ensure compliance with daily administration.”

Fluoride supplements are available in the form of a chewable tablet or a lozenge that is sucked for at least a minute, according to the CDC. They are meant to be used every day and typically geared toward children.

Fluoride supplementation is not indicated for adults, Tomar said, so there’s no strong alternative for adults in areas that are stopping community water fluoridation.

The appropriate dosage for fluoride supplements varies, and experts worry that pharmacists and health care providers who are new to prescribing it – or haven’t had to do so in many years – may not have all the training or information they need.

The CDC has historically put out a report that providers use to assess the baseline level of fluoride in a community water system before supplementing it with tablets or drops, but Trump administration cuts to the federal agency’s oral health department leaves a critical gap.

These challenges could lead to overprescribing fluoride – a key argument for ending community water fluoridation in the first place.

“So now the Utah Dental Association is doing a lot of research to be able to help pharmacists, and we’re hoping to give reports out to say, ‘Hey, this is the natural amount of fluoride in these communities,’ because we are nervous about that,” said Chamberlain, who is a past president of the Utah Dental Association. “We want to make sure that the public is protected and that they’re getting the right amount of fluoride prescribed from whatever source it is from.”

Community water fluoridation was effective at preventing cavities, but now the burden falls on public health for more active messaging about prevention in oral health, said Brian Hatch, the Davis County health director. That will require a lot more public health resources, which are already stretched thin.

“Public health will have to do more in the future to make sure that we reinforce that message going out to every individual in the community,” Hatch said. “There hasn’t been a huge need to do a lot of that outreach, but now there is a need to make sure that it’s a reoccurring message.”

It will require more effort from individuals to support their own health, he said.

“The big shift that I’m probably most concerned about is how we make sure that we get the same bang for the buck by moving people to an active role in their own personal health instead of it being a passive system,” Hatch said.

Simple shift, big impact

The logistics around stopping the flow of fluoride into public water systems in Utah have been simple.

Three water treatment plants in Salt Lake City had already disconnected the system before the May 7 deadline. The fluoride was stored in a large tank and pumped into water in measured doses as it came out of treatment plants and ground water wells.

“The process of removing additional fluoride from the system is essentially just disconnecting the tanks that are used to store the acid from the treatment system,” said Laura Briefer, director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. “It’s basically just removing the feed pumps that are used to dose the water. It’s quite simple.”

But the department has been planning for this change for months, she said. Fluoride is bought in bulk like other treatment chemicals, and there are strict regulations around disposing of excess, so it made sense to start tapering off before ordering more.

There is some naturally occurring fluoride in the Salt Lake City water system, but the water company estimates that any additional fluoride will be processed through the system in a matter of days.

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is in charge of ensuring that water systems across the state are complying with the new law, and it’s requested photo documentation that treatment has been disconnected.

In the weeks since the legislation was passed, the Salt Lake City public utilities department has had a “diversity of feedback from community members,” Briefer said; some residents have called to ask that fluoride be removed immediately while others have suggested that they should go against the law and keep adding fluoride.

“As a public water system, we’re charged with implementing the regulations before us,” she said. “We are also ultimately involved in protecting the public health.”

The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities was not supportive of a fluoride ban in Utah and had lobbied legislators for a “compromise bill” that would include some monitoring of fluoride levels instead of “outright prohibition,” Briefer said. And it hasn’t determined whether it will dispose of the equipment used for community water fluoridation or save it for the possibility of future use.

“One of the things that I would like to see as an outcome of this is some additional monitoring about public health outcomes once the fluoride is removed from the systems that has been historically added to in our state,” Briefer said. “Since we’ve taken this action, I feel like, as a community, we have an obligation to understand what those impacts are, so that we can mitigate any negative impacts to the community we serve.”

Some of the world’s most influential experts on international relations will convene in Salt Lake City this week to help Utah businesses navigate the upheaval of global markets.

The second annual Crossroads of the World International Trade Summit will feature conversations with three former U.S. secretaries of state and two former prime ministers.

“It just shows once again that Utah is not just the crossroads of the West, it’s a crossroads of the world,” said Jeff Flake, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, in a Deseret News interview.

“There are not many gatherings anywhere — in Washington, D.C., or New York, or L.A. — that have three former secretaries of state, along with former heads of state, ambassadors. So it just shows again that Utah is a significant player in international trade.”

Sponsoring the event is the state‘s largest financial institution, Zions Bank, and the state‘s nonprofit arm for international business outreach, World Trade Center Utah, which recently led a trade mission with Gov. Spencer Cox to Canada.

On Wednesday, attendees will hear from Flake, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a number of Utah executives, legislators and manufacturers, and Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On Thursday, attendees will hear from Cox, former secretaries of state Antony Blinken and Condoleezza Rice, former prime ministers Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand and Theresa May of the United Kingdom, and Australia Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd.

“It‘s an impressive list that I don’t think most states could do,” said Shad Morris, the director of the Whitmore Global Business Center at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School.

The fact that these high-profile players on the world stage are considering Utah’s important role during a period of economic turmoil is a sign that the state’s rapid acceleration is being noticed worldwide, Morris said.

Over the past decade, Utah has led the nation in GDP growth, according to the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Institute, and was the fastest growing state in the nation according to the most recent census.

“Coming to Utah just for this I think shows that Utah has been doing something right,” Morris told the Deseret News. “In the way we’re dealing with international trade, with economic policy, with business development.”

Building on past momentum

This year’s event hopes to build on momentum from World Trade Center Utah’s first global summit in 2024, which featured remarks from former President George W. Bush, former Mexican President Vicente Fox and past Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

World Trade Center Utah CEO Jonathan Freedman, who has held the position since 2023, said his goal is for the annual event to become a “world-class” conference “that just happens to be in Utah.”

“We want it to be known around the world,” Freedman said.

Appointing Flake as the board chairman for World Trade Center Utah in September was a big step in this direction, Freedman said.

Other board members with international experience, including Scott Anderson, the former CEO of Zions Bank, contribute to World Trade Center Utah’s strength which is its “global network,” Freedman said.

But in addition to raising Utah’s status on the global stage, events like Crossroads of the World provide essential resources for the small, medium and large businesses that make up the membership of World Trade Center Utah, Freedman said.

The organization has created a tariff dashboard to help Utah businesses navigate the complex timeline of executive orders, retaliatory actions and temporary pauses that have filled the months since President Donald Trump started his second term.

Many of the companies Freedman works with are struggling to plan for the future as the price of imported goods varies from day to day, he said. For some, the uncertainty has ruined their operations entirely.

“Companies need predictability, they need certainty, and they need to know where they can turn for answers,” Freedman said. “And although we do not have all the answers, we do not have a crystal ball, we can provide lots of resources to companies such as access to the best information.”

Conversations on Wednesday will focus on how businesses can handle “policy whiplash” and will give leaders the rare opportunity to engage with former officials from Republican, Democratic and foreign administrations who are able to speak candidly about the realities of global trade and foreign policy.

“Everyone is wondering how they navigate the situation we’re in; it’s a difficult environment for any companies here that rely on trade,” Flake said. “A lot of other companies benefit from hearing those who are going through this, have gone through it before, and have experience.”

Utah: A global hub?

Freedman’s hope is that as Utah shows an eagerness to strengthen ties with the world, the world will look to Utah as a hub for trade.

“I want people around the world to look at Utah as a source of answers and predictability, as a safe haven for investment, as a destination for a talented, skilled workforce,” Freedman said. “These are all the things that we’re proud of in Utah.”

Utah already stands out from its competitors because of its highly educated population, according to Morris. The state has the third most well-trained adult population in the country in terms of post-secondary degrees, credentials and certificates, according to the Kem C. Gardner Institute.

Morris has lived around the country and the world but says he has never lived in a place as entrepreneurial as Utah, from its “Silicon Slopes” tech sector, to its university system, health care and life science industries.

But one of the things that sets it apart most is its orientation toward the rest of the planet, Morris said. The state sends young people to countries around the world, and this exposure to the world has allowed Utah innovators to bring the world back home.

“We’re not an insular or protectionist state,” Morris said. “We’re very much a state focused on growth and development and bringing in ideas, regardless of where they’re coming from, that are good for the economy, for the people, for the culture, for society.”

SALT LAKE CITY — With Utah’s first-in-the-nation ban on fluoride in public drinking water set to take effect Wednesday, dentists who treat children and low-income patients say they’re bracing for an increase in tooth decay among the state’s most vulnerable people.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health experts who warn removing fluoride will harm tooth development, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, said she does not dispute that fluoride can have some benefits but thinks people should not be given it by the government without their informed consent.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded Utah for being the first state to enact a ban and said he plans to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation nationwide.

Florida could soon become the second state to ban fluoride under a bill awaiting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. The Ohio and South Carolina legislatures are considering similar measures.

Dissected human teeth are displayed in the office of dentist Dr. James Bekker on April 30 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Hannah Schoenbaum / Associated Press)

Many patients not in the know

A majority of Utah water systems already did not add fluoride. The state ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents receiving fluoridated water, with about 2 in 5 receiving it in 2022, according to CDC data. The law will impact about 1.6 million people in Salt Lake City and elsewhere in northern Utah who are losing fluoridation, state officials say.

Dentists in Salt Lake City over the past week said many patients were unaware of the upcoming ban, and most did not realize the city had been adding fluoride to their drinking water for nearly two decades.

“I did not know about a ban,” said Noe Figueroa, a patient at Salt Lake Donated Dental Services, a clinic that provides free or heavily discounted dental treatment to low-income residents. “Well, that’s not good. I don’t think that’s good at all.”

At Donated Dental, providers expect their months-long wait list for children’s procedures to grow significantly and their need for volunteer dentists to skyrocket. The effects of the ban in children’s teeth will likely be visible within the next year, said Sasha Harvey, the clinic’s executive director.

“Right now, we’re scheduling into August and September for some 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds that are in so much pain that they can’t eat properly, and there’s nothing we can do but tell parents, ‘You’re gonna have to wait.’ It’s heartbreaking,” Harvey said, adding that it’s likely to get much worse.

A public health achievement under scrutiny

The fluoridation process involves supplementing the low levels of naturally occurring fluoride in most water to reach the 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended by the CDC for cavity prevention. Water treatment plants dump fluoride into the water in liquid or powder form and often use dosing pumps to adjust the levels.

Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population receives fluoridated drinking water, according to health officials. It was long considered among the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Fluoride fortifies teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. It’s especially important to children whose teeth are still developing. For some low-income families, public drinking water containing fluoride may be their only source of preventative dental care.

Some supporters of the Utah law pointed to studies linking high levels of fluoride exposure to illness and low IQ in kids. The National Institutes of Health says it’s “virtually impossible” to get a toxic dose from fluoride added to water or toothpaste at standard levels.

The governor said that, like many people in Utah, he grew up and raised his children in a community without fluoridated water. Before signing the bill, Cox said there is no difference in health outcomes between communities with and without fluoride — a statement Utah dentists say is false.

“Any dentist can look in someone’s mouth in Utah and tell exactly where they grew up. Did you grow up in a fluoridated area or a non-fluoridated area? We can tell by the level of decay,” said Dr. James Bekker, a pediatric dentist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Barriers to fluoride supplements

The law shifts responsibility to individuals, meaning all Utah residents will need to be proactive about their oral health, Harvey said. Most patients at her clinic only come in when a toothache becomes unbearable, and many cannot spare the few dollars a month needed to buy fluoride supplements to add to their drinking water at home.

Figueroa, the free dental clinic patient, said other expenses take priority.

Fluoride toothpaste alone is insufficient for children because it doesn’t penetrate the tooth’s outer layer, Bekker said. When a person regularly ingests fluoridated water, their saliva bathes the teeth in fluoride throughout the day and makes them stronger.

Bekker said he recommends Utah parents add fluoride supplements to their children’s drinking water. But for families who don’t visit doctors regularly, that may prove difficult.

Fluoride tablets require a prescription from a doctor or dentist. Utah providers are working to make the supplement accessible over the counter, but Bekker said that change may be months or years away.

Schoenbaum writes for the Associated Press.

Duke football took a meaningful step forward on Monday with the addition of tight end Landen King, a graduate transfer from Utah who also previously played at Auburn. King, who entered the NCAA transfer portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on social media just days after officially hitting the portal. The decision brings both experience and versatility to Duke’s tight end room as the program prepares for year two under head coach Manny Diaz.

A Career Marked by Development

King began his collegiate career as part of Auburn’s 2021 recruiting class. A three-star prospect out of high school, he was ranked No. 620 overall and the No. 34 tight end in his class by the On3 Industry Rankings. After two seasons with limited production at Auburn, King transferred to Utah, where he found his stride in 2023, recording 14 receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns, the most productive year of his college tenure.

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His 2024 campaign was more subdued. King didn’t appear in a game until November, ultimately finishing the season with three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown. Now set for his fifth year of eligibility, King brings a 6-foot-5 frame and a history of adapting to new systems, making him a flexible piece in Duke’s offensive puzzle.

Strategic Addition

For Duke, King represents more than just depth at tight end; he reflects a strategic effort to build on recent momentum. Under first-year head coach Manny Diaz, the Blue Devils went 9-4 in 2024 and earned a Gator Bowl appearance. Though they fell to Ole Miss in that game, the season marked a promising start to Diaz’s tenure. Adding a veteran tight end with Power Five experience aligns with the program’s broader push toward consistency and competitiveness in the ACC.

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Duke’s 2025 schedule includes notable matchups against NC State, Clemson, Wake Forest, and an anticipated face-off with North Carolina, now led by Bill Belichick. King’s experience in multiple high-level environments could provide critical support in navigating that slate.

Rapid Turnaround Potential

King’s swift transition from portal entry to commitment also underscores the evolving nature of college football’s transfer ecosystem. With the spring window open from April 16 to April 25, programs had a brief but critical period to identify needs and pursue talent. Over 3,600 FBS scholarship players entered the portal during the 2024-25 cycle, reflecting a new norm of player mobility and program recalibration.

King’s move to Duke is emblematic of that shift, a veteran player seeking a final opportunity and a program ready to benefit from his experience.

Against prevailing odds, the Utah Hockey Club will pick fourth in the 2025 NHL Draft after winning the second lottery drawing on Monday night.

A team can move up a maximum of 10 spots. Utah finished with the 14th-best record in the NHL in the 2024-25 season, meaning the fourth overall pick is the best it could hope for.

“To pick at four — A couple seconds ago we were 10 back,” said general manager Bill Armstrong in a press conference just minutes after the conclusion of the draft lottery.

“It still hasn’t sunk in, but what a great opportunity for us to be able to move that far up in the draft.”

It’s all decided by a series of ping pong balls drawn from a machine. Utah’s lucky numbers were 1, 3, 5 and 12.

It was the league’s first time doing a live draft lottery. In past years, it has been done privately with the positions revealed on television afterwards.

There has long been speculation that the league could rig it in favor of the teams it feels need a boost, but the new process squashes the tinfoil hats.

Utah HC’s list of prospects available to them improves drastically with this win. This year’s draft is not believed to be incredibly deep, but the top few players are projected to be game-changers.

Armstrong said he’s not opposed to trading the pick if that’s the best option available to him.

“Obviously we’ll always talk about it,” he said. “We’ll never shut that door.”

Last year, he made trades at the draft to acquire Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino and a second first-round pick. Trading the No. 4 pick this year could be key in landing another major player to help the team shift from rebuild mode to a perennial playoff team.

The winner of the first overall pick Monday was equally surprising: Like Utah, the 10th-worst New York Islanders moved up their maximum number of spots.

Prior to Monday, it had only happened once in NHL history that a team moved up 10 spots. The San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks, who respectively finished the 2024-25 season in last and second-to-last place, will have the second and third picks, respectively, by default.

Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Provo, Utah. Currently writing for SB Nation and FanSided, he has covered the Utah Jazz and BYU athletics since 2024 and graduated (woohoo!) from Utah Valley University.

Have no doubt: Will Hardy is here to stay with the Utah Jazz for the long haul, and that was made clear as owner Ryan Smith announced the coach’s contract extension to remain in the Salt Lake Valley through the turn of the next decade.

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Hardy is an often overlooked aspect of the seismic shift in the landscape of the Utah Jazz organization back in 2022. In the wake of the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell exchanges, Utah likewise overhauled its coaching staff by drawing in a young coach who many considered the heir apparent of the heir apparent of the Celtics’ throne.

Though he has yet to reach the playoffs with his young Jazz team, it’s clear that Hardy’s regimen, combined with an affable personality, has stretched his young Jazz roster well beyond their expected win totals — almost to the detriment of a team hoping to build a championship contender through the draft.

Like a desperate desert wanderer, he’s been able to discover fresh water in some of the most unlikely of places. His will to survive — pardon my pun — has revealed some fascinating building blocks of a potential future championship squad.

Isaiah Collier? From a borderline NBA player to a playmaking manifesto, his rookie season was a major success. Kyle Filipowski? Unexpectedly, he became one of the best rookies in his entire draft class, despite slipping to the second round. You already know about the career revival of Lauri Markkanen, an international hooper who entered the NBA a touch flat before exploding with Hardy and the Jazz.

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While his run in Utah is still very young, it’s clear that Hardy’s boys (I can’t help myself) have outperformed expectations time and time again. In a long and exhausting rebuilding process, it’s important to have the right individuals in place. Hardy has bought into the program, and his shared conviction has bled into every fiber of his stewardship.

Will Hardy is here to stay, and the future of the Utah Jazz just got that much brighter.

More from slcdunk.com:

Will Hardy isn’t going anywhere any time soon.

The Utah Jazz announced Monday morning that Hardy has signed a multi-year contract extension to stay with the franchise through 2031.

Hardy just completed his third season as the head coach of the Jazz, who are mired in a long-term rebuild, but team governor Ryan Smith stated that the hope is that Hardy will be the head coach of the franchise when it returns to title contention.

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“Will is an incredible leader, great communicator — especially with our younger players — and a strong ambassador for this franchise,” Smith said in a statement. “He has been a tremendous partner to Danny (Ainge), Justin (Zanik), and me. There is no one we would rather have leading us to our ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship here in Utah.”

Added Ainge: “Will’s leadership has been invaluable to our program. He has established a vision for our players and a strong foundation of core values, competitive habits, and growth mindset. He is one of the brightest young coaches in our league, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him.”

Hardy’s record leading the Jazz — so far — is 85-161, a winning percentage of .346.

Utah has been far away from being a good NBA team and finished this season (2024-25) with the worst record in the league at 17-65.

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Hardy is still considered something of a rising star in the coaching industry, though, after assistant coaching stints with the San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics.

“I love Utah and the Jazz organization and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue to help guide our team,” Hardy said in a statement. “I believe in what we are building. We have a talented group of coaches and people all working to build a championship program for this incredible fan base. I want to thank Ryan, Ashley (Smith), Danny, and Justin for the support they have shown me since I first arrived in Utah. I am excited to continue our journey.”