Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPNJun 6, 2024, 04:20 PM
Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPNJun 6, 2024, 04:20 PMTheLos Angeles Lakersare targetingUConnmen’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 are planning to escalate discussions in the coming days, sources told ESPN. Hurley has been at the forefront of the Lakers’ search from the beginning of the process, even while the organization has done its due diligence interviewing several other candidates, sources said.
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Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and governor Jeanie Buss are eager to formally discuss with Hurley their vision of marrying his dominant program — built upon both his tactical acumen and elite player development — with the storied Lakers brand, sources said.
Hurley, 51, has often described his ambition to one day coach in the NBA and has expressed to the Lakers a desire to explore the full picture of a partnership with one of basketball’s winningest franchises, sources said.
The pursuit of Hurley comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers trying to hire then-Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to a record-breaking contract in 2004. Krzyzewski elected to remain with the Blue Devils, but the climate has dramatically changed in college athletics. The demands of NIL fundraising for non-power football schools like UConn are an especially relentless grind — and expected to become even more difficult.
As for the Lakers’ stars,LeBron Jameshas been impressed with Hurley’s sophisticated offensive actions. Assuming James returns to L.A. in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th overall pick in this month’s NBA draft on USC freshman guardBronny Jamesmakes Hurley an even more intriguing candidate. If that happens, James gets a chance to play with his son and the benefit of Hurley and his staff becoming responsible for Bronny’s pro development.
In a social media post responding to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James posted on X about Hurley: “He’s so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with their [offense]. Love it.”
The Lakers have been committed to making All-NBA forwardAnthony Davisa significant part of the conversation on the next head coach and want to make sure that he’s aligned with how a new coach plans to feature him on both offense and defense, sources said.
The Lakers have had several interviews with other candidates, includingNew Orleans Pelicansassistant James Borrego, Redick,Boston Celticsassistant Sam Cassell andDenver Nuggetsassistant David Adelman, sources said. The Lakers have proceeded with conversations with other candidates over the past few weeks, but the potential of landing Hurley has been the focus of the Lakers’ search, sources said.
- Lakers parted ways with Darvin Ham in May
- Hurley known for developing player talent
Guardian sportThu 6 Jun 2024 13.21 BSTShare
The Los Angeles Lakers aim to hire Dan Hurley, who has led UConn to back-to-back NCAA national titles, as their next coach,according to ESPN.
Hurley is known for his tactical prowess as well as his ability to develop players, attributes that have made him the Lakers’ top target as they seek to replace Darvin Ham, who was dismissed in May after the team lost in the first-round of the playoffs.
Hurley signed a six-year, $32m contractwith UConn last year and ESPN reports the Lakers are offering him a lucrative, long-term deal. The Lakers are understood to have had preliminary discussion with the 51-year-old, who has spoken about his ambition to coach in the NBA, but are yet to make a formal offer.
Hurley’s reputation for developing player talent may be a particular lure for the Lakers.New league rulesmake it harder for teams to be built around three star players, making developing younger players more important. Hurley could theoretically help improve talented younger players who are already on the Lakers roster, such as Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie, behind their established stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. There have also been rumours in recent months that the Lakers could draft James’s eldest son, Bronny, this year. Bronny is considered a marginal NBA talent but LeBron, who holds immense sway in the franchise, would be pleased at having Hurley involved in his son’s development.
Modified Jun 06, 2024 12:23 GMT
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The UConn coach, now a prominent figure in college basketball, is set to receive a “substantial offer” from the Los Angeles team and is open to the idea.
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Update:Jun 6th, 2024 08:39 EDT
The Lakers bench is still without a tenant, but its occupant might not be the one everyone thought it would be, especially in the last 24 hours.Former player and communicator JJ Redick had been designated as a replacement for the fired Darvin Ham.
On Tuesday night, journalist Shams Charania fromThe Athleticreported that 39-year-oldJJ Redick, who will be joining ESPN as a commentator for the Finals, is the most serious candidate for the Lakers HC job.Redick also hosts a successful podcast, “Mind The Game,” with LeBron James. It’s uncertain whether LeBron will stay in Los Angeles, but it’s unlikely that he will leave. It seems that LeBron will not be accepting his player option, and although all options are being considered, staying with the Lakers remains the most probable choice for LeBron.
It appears that the Lakers are not pursuing J.J. Redick, as Adrian Wojnarowski ofESPNreported.Instead, they seem to be preparing a substantial and long-term offer for Dan Hurley, the current UConn coach. Hurley, aged 51, has been with UConn since 2018 and has achieved many successes, including winning the College Coach of the Year award this year and the national title in the previous two seasons.
How interested is Dan Hurley in the Los Angeles Lakers job?
According to Wojnarowski, the final offensive will come in the coming days, andHurley has always been the favorite even though the Lakers, within the usual coaching search process, have held meetings and interviews with other candidates: Redick, James Borrego, Sam Cassell, David Adelman…
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are targeting Connecticut’s Dan Hurley to become the franchise’s next coach and are preparing a massive, long-term contract offer to bring the back-to-back national champion to the NBA, sources tell ESPN.pic.twitter.com/6WPrigPvAW— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)June 6, 2024
ADAM WELLSJUNE 6, 2024
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
All of us who assumed JJ Redick’s podcast partnership with LeBron James gave him a leg up in the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search appear to have egg on our face.
ESPN’sAdrian Wojnarowskireported on Thursday that Connecticut’s Dan Hurley is being targeted by the Lakers, who are preparing to extend him a “massive, long-term contract offer” in the coming days.
This comes two days afterShams Charaniaof The Athletic and Stadium reported the Lakers were “zeroing” in on Redick as the frontrunner to replace Darvin Ham.
NBA fans had some fun with the apparent switcheroo by dropping a series of memes about James, Redick and Hurley.
Yasuke@Yasuke1886
JJ reddick will never forgive this Franchise <a href=”https://t.co/rWORY5CGIB”>pic.twitter.com/rWORY5CGIB</a>
AyCartii@AyCartiii
Lebron getting 2 more rings After teaming up with a real head coach for once 🙏 😭 <a href=”https://t.co/QC01orNiLu”>pic.twitter.com/QC01orNiLu</a>
John Ewing@johnewing
JJ Redick… <a href=”https://t.co/K3PdOAkGex”>pic.twitter.com/K3PdOAkGex</a>
FanDuel@FanDuel
JJ Redick right now: <a href=”https://t.co/D9LD3sfQS4″>pic.twitter.com/D9LD3sfQS4</a>
Basketball Jones@ASportsJones
<a href=”https://t.co/s9COurJ0K7″>pic.twitter.com/s9COurJ0K7</a>
NYKMuse@NYKMuse
JJ Reddick almost made it in and the Lakers said nvm get tf out 😂 <a href=”https://t.co/nik30L8yQ8″>pic.twitter.com/nik30L8yQ8</a>
Mr. Neverthatserious@LL_Cool_AF
Damn <a href=”https://twitter.com/jj_redick?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@jj_redick</a> like… <a href=”https://t.co/K9koLkyGnw”>pic.twitter.com/K9koLkyGnw</a>
24 Hours After Resume Review, LeBron Withdraws Support for JJ Redick’s Lakers Coaching Bid – Here’s Why
Jun 6, 2024 | 6:14 PM IST
JJ Redick had been a popular choice to succeed Darvin Ham as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach for the past few weeks. Since beginning an analytical podcast with LeBron James, a core part of the Lakers, experts assumed his place at the helm to be certain. However, in a recent episode of ‘Mind the Game’, a lacking quality of his was exposed. Redick has never coached an NBA team. Moreover, as an NBA player, he has only been to one NBA Finals, never having the luxury of hoisting one. Even then, the franchise was willing to overlook his unattractive coaching resume. That was until a bull entered the conversation.
Completely flipping from Redick, the Lakers are said to be heavily in talks with UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley. The strategic genius steered the college champions to an unprecedented offensive run, breaking records along the way. Additionally, Hurley became the first coach in 17 years to defend his NCAA title. As highlighted before, Redick doesn’t possess the same pedigree.
That might be among the reasons LeBron James has decided to fall away from the framework of having JJ Redick as the head coach. While he hasn’t publicly spoken in favor of Hurley, the only way a conversation with the esteemed college coach would ignite would be through the approval of the franchise’s ace. The 39-year-old however, has multiple reasons to support the hire of Hurley if it does go through.
