UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley told ESPN that the Los Angeles Lakers made a “compelling case” and presented a “compelling vision” for him to become the franchise's next coach, but that he loves what he does. has built at two-time defending national champion UConn. – and he plans to make a decision about his future on Monday.
In a phone interview Sunday, Hurley told ESPN that he came away “extremely impressed” with Lakers vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss, and that he had spent Sunday weighing what sources told him. They tell ESPN it's a massive long-term offer to move to the NBA. .
Hurley traveled to Los Angeles on Thursday night, met with the Lakers on Friday and returned east on Saturday morning, Hurley said.
The Lakers' pursuit of Hurley accelerated in recent days after Hurley informed his administration on Wednesday and his players on Thursday about talks with the Lakers. UConn has won back-to-back NCAA titles, including a record 12 straight double-digit tournament wins, and has a top-five team returning next season.
Hurley has been at the forefront of the Lakers' search since the beginning of the process, even as the organization has done its due diligence by interviewing several other candidates, sources said. Only New Orleans assistant James Borrego had two in-person interviews in Los Angeles, sources said.
Pelinka and Buss formally discussed with Hurley his vision of merging his dominant program, based on both its tactical acumen and the development of elite players, with the historic Lakers brand.
Hurley, 51, has often described his ambition to one day be an NBA coach and traveled to Los Angeles to explore the big picture of an association with one of basketball's winningest franchises.
Hurley's pursuit comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers' attempt to sign Mike Krzyzewski from Duke to a record contract in 2004. Krzyzewski chose to remain at Duke, but the climate has changed dramatically in college athletics. NIL's fundraising demands for non-power football schools like UConn are an especially unrelenting task, and are expected to become even more difficult.
As for the Lakers' stars, LeBron James has been impressed with Hurley's sophisticated offensive play, and assuming he returns to Los Angeles in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th overall pick in the draft on the first-year guard USC's Bronny James makes Hurley an even more intriguing candidate. . If that happens, LeBron James will have the opportunity to play with his son and the benefit of Hurley and his staff becoming responsible for Bronny James' professional development.
In a social media post in response to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James posted on X of Hurley: “He's so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with his [offense]. I love it.”
The Lakers have committed to making All-NBA forward Anthony Davis a major part of the conversation about their next head coach and want to make sure he is aligned with how the new coach plans to include him on both offense and defense. defense, sources said.
The Lakers have continued talks with other candidates in recent weeks, but the potential of signing Hurley has been the focus of the Lakers' search, sources said.
Part of Hurley's appeal goes back to the changing landscape of NBA roster construction under the collective bargaining agreement. Due to roster-building limitations imposed by the new second platform, the ability for big-market teams to build rival rosters by trading multiple draft picks and young players for a third-star player has largely been eliminated. Beyond the 17th overall pick in this month's draft, the Lakers have a young core of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie that management believes can show even greater improvement under Hurley, sources said. .
After back-to-back historically dominant national title seasons, Hurley has become the most coveted coach in the sport, and the possibility of him leaving UConn and the Big East Conference for the Lakers has huge implications for both college basketball and the NBA. . Hurley has built a juggernaut that has surpassed the sport, culminating in the first repeat NCAA champion in 17 years and a tournament performance that produced the largest point differential in tournament history: 140 points.
UConn's chance to win a third straight title looms with the return of a preseason top-five team, but the Huskies lost two likely lottery picks (center Donovan Clingan and guard Stephon Castle) and a point guard All -First team American. (Tristen Newton) to the NBA draft.
The Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham after a first-round exit in the Western Conference playoffs. Ham went 94-70 in two seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference finals in 2023.
Hurley is 141-58 (.709) in six seasons as UConn's coach. The son of Naismith Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., for whom Hurley played at famed St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, Dan Hurley spent nine years as a high school coach at St. Benedict's Prep before to quickly rebuild the university programs in Wagner and Rhode Island. His older brother, Bobby, is the head coach at Arizona State.
