The Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search took a big and unexpected turn on Thursday when news broke that they’re aggressively pursuing University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley. Hurley has coached the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA championships the last two seasons, and he has become one of the most attractive coaching candidates in all of basketball.
The Lakers had appeared poised to eventually hire JJ Redick, a former NBA sharpshooter who has virtually no coaching experience of any kind. Many have felt they were simply unable and unwilling to pay a head coach a competitive salary.
But according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are preparing a massive, long-term contract offer for Hurley.
.@wojespn says the Lakers have been "relentless" in targeting Dan Hurley as the team's next HC 👀 pic.twitter.com/SNwEuVQAga
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 6, 2024
“This has been their No. 1 candidate,” said Wojnarowski. “There are traction in these conversations. They have had contact. They’re going to talk much more in the coming days. But the Lakers are preparing a massive, long-term offer for Dan Hurley.
“They want him to be a program-builder in L.A. They want a coach who can span not just this LeBron James-Anthony Davis era, but beyond it.”
Hurley is 51 years of age and has compiled an impressive overall record as a college head coach over the past two decades. Hiring him would represent a paradigm shift for the Lakers, as they have opted to go with men who had previously been either assistant coaches or low-key head coaches ever since Phil Jackson left in 2011.
