The Jazz fell to 1-8 with another loss on Friday, this time at the hands of Dallas. But prior to the game, owner Ryan Smith offered his support for head coach Will Hardy and a front office led by president of basketball operations Austin Ainge, per Na’Andre Emerson of The Deseret News.

“Will’s our guy. Austin’s our guy. Like we’re not changing anything,” Smith said on KSL’s “Scotty G. & The Coach” podcast. “Like we’re going to go through this, we’re going to work together. We got (CEO) Danny (Ainge), and like I love our group.”

Smith addressed fans’ unhappiness with the team’s disappointing start, the development of key young players and expectations for a team that hoped to take a step forward this season after spending the last four years in rebuilding mode, Emerson writes.

While Smith struck an optimistic and future-facing tone for much of the podcast appearance, he acknowledged the Jazz haven’t started 2026/27 the way they anticipated, in part due to injuries to frontcourt starters Jusuf Nurkic and Jaren Jackson Jr. He’s also not satisfied with the team’s current play.

“I think collectively the inconsistency is what’s been super frustrating, and I think it’s frustrating for everyone, but that takes time,” he said.

According to Emerson, Smith pointed to the young core of Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey as part of his rationale for why he thinks brighter days are ahead in Utah, though he noted that it’s difficult to develop young players and win games at the same time.

“(Growth is) not linear for any of these guys,” Smith said. “There’s only one way to go through it, is to put them out on the floor, and these guys are getting enough reps.”

Smith insists the Jazz aren’t panicking amid the poor start. In fact, he remains confident the team will eventually contend for championships, per Emersen, specifically mentioning the young players, George’s new rookie scale extension, and Jackson’s commitment to the club. Smith also pointed out that the Jazz have a stockpile of first-round picks and the financial flexibility to upgrade the roster in the future.

“There’s only so many levers you can pull given…where you’re at in the season,” Smith said. “We’re definitely looking (at) this as a two, three, four year, and our goal is to win the championship.”