The Los Angeles Lakers are targeting UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley as the franchise's next coach and are preparing a massive long-term contract offer to bring the back-to-back NCAA national champion to the NBA, sources told ESPN.
The Lakers have had preliminary contact with Hurley and the sides plan to intensify talks in the coming days, sources told ESPN. 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.
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and governor Jeanie Buss are eager to formally discuss with Hurley his vision of uniting their dominant program, built on his tactical acumen and elite player development. , with the historic Lakers brand, according to sources. saying.
Hurley, 51, has often described his ambition to one day be an NBA coach and has expressed to the Lakers his desire to explore the full picture of a partnership with one of basketball's winningest franchises, sources said.
Hurley told UConn players at practice Thursday that the Lakers had contacted him and that he was listening to what they had to say, sources said.
Hurley's pursuit comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers' attempt to hire then-Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to a record contract in 2004. Krzyzewski decided to remain with the Blue Devils, but the climate has changed dramatically in university athletics. NIL's fundraising demands for non-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 actions. Assuming James returns to Los Angeles in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th pick in this month's NBA draft on USC freshman guard Bronny James makes Hurley even more of a candidate. intriguing. If that happens, James will have the opportunity to play with his son and will benefit from Hurley and his staff becoming responsible for Bronny's professional development.
In a social media post in response to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James posted on X about Hurley: “He's SO GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with his [offense]. I love it.”
James has not had any conversations with the Lakers about Hurley or Redick and the coaching search in general, a source familiar with the situation told ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Thursday. James, through his representatives, has made it clear that the Lakers must do what is best for the organization and is aware and respectful that the Lakers must make a decision about a coach who will be with the team beyond his career. As a player.
The Lakers have committed to making All-NBA forward Anthony Davis a major part of the conversation about the next head coach and want to make sure he is aligned with how the new coach plans to fit him on offense and defense. sources said.
The Lakers have had several interviews with other candidates, including New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Redick, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell and Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, 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 the roster-building limitations of the new second front, the ability for big-market teams to build rival rosters by trading multiple draft picks and young players for a third star player has been largely eliminated. Beyond the 17th pick in this month's draft, the Lakers have a young core of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie that management believes can still 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 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.
The chance for UConn to win a third straight title comes with the return of a preseason top-five team, but the Huskies lost two lottery picks (center Donovan Clingan and guard Stephon Castle) and an All-America point guard from the first team (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 and has an NCAA Tournament record of 12 consecutive double-digit wins. 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 university programs in Wagner and Rhode Island. His older brother, Bobby, is the head coach at Arizona State.
