Tag: Dan Hurley

UConn had a perfectly calm reaction to Dan Hurley turning down the Lakers’ massive offer

It’s just business as usual now that Dan Hurley will not leave for the Lakers.

It was no secret the Lakers wanted to hire UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley. But the two-time collegiate national champion is staying put.

After winning March Madness in back-to-back seasons, Hurley is going to try for a three-peat. He would become the first men’s basketball coach who accomplished as much since John Wooden did as much for UCLA.

Hurley was an enticing but risky candidate for Los Angeles and now, the Lakers will go back to the drawing board as they look to replace Darvin Ham (now an assistant coach on the Bucks). Most likely, JJ Redick will once again emerge as the favorite.

Meanwhile, despite a few days of drama, the Huskies are back to business as usual in Connecticut. After some brief chaos and frenzy, Hurley met with his team on Monday and informed them that he is not leaving.

UConn Men’s Basketball account had a casual reaction to the developing story, tweeting that their 2:00 p.m. practice had begun.

It was a perfectly nonchalant way of describing what happened, which is that nothing has changed but the day on the calendar.

Hurley was reportedly offered $70 million to leave the NCAA but he gets to defend his championships instead. It is easy to imagine that all of the players on the roster felt pretty fired up after the announcement and that the practice had tremendous vibes.

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NBA fans trolled the Lakers for missing out on top coaching target Dan Hurley

Does anybody feel bad for the Lakers? Anybody?

The Los Angeles Lakers will head back to the coaching drawing board after being turned down by UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley.

Hurley reportedly decided against a six-year, $70 million deal to become the Lakers’ head coach, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Hurley staying with UConn leaves the Lakers in a tough spot, as they’ll either pivot to someone like former NBA player JJ Redick or look for a top-rated assistant on a contending team.

However, the move also highlights that even an illustrious job like Los Angeles with an all-time talent in LeBron James isn’t necessarily enough to lure a top coaching target these days on name and reputation alone.

Being that the Lakers are one of the NBA’s legacy programs, fans had a blast trolling Los Angeles after missing out on Hurley in such a public way.

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Dan Hurley turns down Lakers, will remain at UConn to chase a threepeat

Dan Hurley returned to the UConn Huskies, turning down a reported $70M offer from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dan Hurley is staying home.

The 51-year-old head coach entertained a lucrative offer to leave the UConn Huskies to head across the country and coach LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers, but ultimately decided to return to Storrs and chase an elusive college basketball threepeat, which has not happened since John Wooden at UCLA.

Hurley reportedly turned down an offer from LA in the ballpark of six years and $70M, and instead will remain at UConn – where he has an extension offer in the range of six years and $50M, according to Jeff Goodman.

Hurley turned down a chance to coach the Kentucky Wildcats earlier this offseason, and now has rejected not only his first offer to be an NBA head coach, but a chance to coach perhaps the biggest basketball brand on the planet, and work with two future Hall of Famers in James and Davis.

For UConn, Hurley’s return means the roster the staff worked tirelessly to build will remain intact. Alex Karaban, who returned to chase a third straight title despite serious NBA draft attention, will now stay put in Storrs and should be in consideration as a preseason All-American.

Transfer portal additions Tarris Reed (Michigan) and Aidan Mahaney (St. Mary’s) will remain in the mix as well, along with incoming freshman Liam McNeeley.

Hurley’s ties to the east coast are one of many factors that kept him in Storrs, and a chance to lead UConn to another title and cement his legacy as one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history awaits him heading into the 2024-25 season.

Dan Hurley will not coach Bronny James with the Lakers

If the Lakers do draft Bronny James, Dan Hurley won’t be there to coach him.

Dan Hurley won’t be with the Los Angeles Lakers if the NBA franchise selects Bronny James in the 2024 NBA draft or signs Bronny after the draft. Hurley turned down the Lakers to remain at UConn and pursue a third straight national championship.

LeBron Wire has more on this story:

“The Los Angeles Lakers had their eyes set on bringing Dan Hurley up from the collegiate ranks to Hollywood to replace the recently fired Darvin Ham. They had been negotiating with Hurley over the weekend to try and get him to LA, but it appears those negotiations were not enough.

“The Lakers had offered Hurley a huge contract of 6-years and $70 million, but Hurley will turn it down to remain the coach at UConn. He has led the Huskies to back-to-back national titles and will be looking to 3-peat in the 2024-25 season. He has a record of 141-58 in four seasons at UConn.”

Will J.J. Redick become the next coach of the Lakers, and therefore the man who will likely coach Bronny James in the NBA? Or, will another candidate emerge as the Lakers pivot and reconsider their options? Stay tuned.

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Dan Hurley rejects huge Lakers offer, to remain head coach at UConn

Dan Hurley will reject a huge offer from the Los Angeles Lakers and remain the head coach at UConn.

The Los Angeles Lakers had their eyes set on bringing Dan Hurley up from the collegiate ranks to Hollywood to replace the recently fired Darvin Ham. They had been negotiating with Hurley over the weekend to try and get him to LA, but it appears those negotiations were not enough.

The Lakers had offered Hurley a huge contract of 6-years and $70 million, but Hurley will turn it down to remain the coach at UConn. He has led the Huskies to back-to-back national titles and will be looking to 3-peat in the 2024-25 season. He has a record of 141-58 in four seasons at UConn.

With the Hurley pursuit falling short, the Lakers will have to look elsewhere in order to replace Ham. Of course, there are quite a few options to look into for Los Angeles. There are a lot of candidates who would love to possibly coach LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the upcoming season.

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Source: Luke Murray could join Dan Hurley if Hurley says yes to the Lakers

One of Dan Hurley’s potential assistant coaches with the Lakers may have already been identified.

After University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley met with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, he has been mulling over whether to accept their offer, which is reportedly in the ballpark of $100 million over eight years.

It is a huge decision for himself and his family — and it likely doesn’t only have to do with basketball. Hurley, who is originally from New Jersey, has spent his life in the Northeast and has never coached in the NBA, and coming to the Lakers would mean trading in his parkas for flip-flops and swim trunks.

The 51-year-old is reportedly expected to make his decision on Monday, June 10.

According to John Fanta, who covers college basketball for Fox Sports, Huskies assistant Luke Murray, or possibly assistant Kimani Young, would join Hurley’s staff in L.A. if the latter says yes to the Lakers.

Via Fox Sports:

“The key debate, sources tell FOX Sports, would be whether associate head coach Kimani Young or assistant coach Luke Murray, the son of Hollywood legend Bill Murray, is given the job. Based on what I have heard, it looks like whoever wouldn’t get elevated would join Hurley in the NBA — especially if Murray is not named head coach, he would follow Hurley to L.A. — thus giving that person a nice concession prize and the opportunity to land a head coaching job down the road.

“Both Murray and Young have been in the running for other head coaching jobs and could have taken one by now, but their salaries at UConn and the comfort level of being on staff for a heavyweight program has kept them in Storrs.”

Murray is the son of Bill Murray, the legendary comedian and actor who has starred in movies such as “Caddyshack,” “Ghostbusters” and “Groundhog Day.” He has been an assistant under Hurley for the last three seasons and has been tasked with being the team’s offensive coordinator.

Overall, the younger Murray has been an assistant coach in the NCAA for multiple schools. He had previously served under Hurley at Wagner College and the University of Rhode Island.

Dan Hurley says Lakers’ head coaching pitch is compelling

University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley hasn’t decided whether to become the Lakers’ head coach, but he likes the pitch they made.

On Thursday, news broke seemingly out of nowhere that the Los Angeles Lakers were making a serious push to hire Dan Hurley from the University of Connecticut as their next head coach.

Hurley has been the Huskies’ head coach since 2018, and with him leading the way, they have won the last two NCAA championships.

He reportedly met with the Lakers on Friday, and he has been spending time deciding whether to remain in the Northeast or head out West to coach the Purple and Gold.

The 51-year-old has admitted that the Lakers’ pitch is compelling.

Via ESPN:

“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 has built at two-time defending national champion UConn — and plans to make a decision on his future Monday.

“In a phone interview Sunday, Hurley told ESPN that he left ‘extremely impressed’ with Lakers VP and GM Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss and had been spending Sunday weighing what sources tell ESPN is a massive, long-term offer to move to the NBA.”

The Lakers reportedly not only want Hurley to be their next head coach, but they also want him to be a program-builder. According to an insider, they prepared an offer of about $100 million over eight years.

Would Dan Hurley or J.J. Redick be better for Bronny James?

The Lakers really seem to be thinking through the ramifications of their eventual coaching choice.

This might seem obvious to some, but the world of the NBA can offer all sorts of unexpected plot twists. Many basketball insiders might immediately say that Dan Hurley will be better than J.J. Redick for the development of USC’s Bronny James with the Los Angeles Lakers, but there is no guarantee that specific coaches will fit or get along with specific players. It could also be that Hurley and Redick have different views of Bronny himself, and that the Lakers might be thinking through their coaching choice based on that point plus various other roster and personnel-related considerations.

LeBron Wire writes about the latest in the Lakers’ coaching search:

“Just when it looked like JJ Redick was in the driver’s seat to become the Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach, things took an abrupt turn on Thursday morning.

“That is when word got out that the Lakers were aggressively courting University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley. The two sides were reportedly scheduled to meet in person on Friday in order to talk about how a partnership could work and even talk about the framework of a contract. Still, as of Friday afternoon, nothing has been set in stone, as least as far as anyone outside of the Lakers organization knows.”

Nothing about this situation is settled, and it points to a clear deliberation process within the Laker organization, such that they aren’t currently sure how their new head coach will relate to and affect their current and future players. The Hurley-Redick debate is easy to opine on, but the reality of what each coach means for Bronny James, LeBron James, and other current or future Lakers is hard to know. It’s just not as simple as it might seem.

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ESPN’s Jay Bilas discusses Dan Hurley, Lakers, and Bronny James

Jay Bilas explores the possibility of Dan Hurley going to the Lakers.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas tells Rich Eisen why UConn’s Dan Hurley would be a great fit for the Los Angeles Lakers. Bilas also discusses how LeBron James (and possibly Bronny James) would mesh with Hurley’s style of coaching, the odds Hurley will ditch UConn for L.A., and who he has winning the NBA Finals.

LeBron Wire discussed the politics of the Lakers’ coaching search behind the scenes:

After weeks of seemingly being headed toward hiring JJ Redick to be their next head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers are now making a serious push to bring in University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley to fill that position.

On the surface, it would seem to be the type of hire that everyone in the Lakers organization would be on board with. However, the most important man in the organization who has to approve of Hurley is, of course, LeBron James.

We are all waiting to see if the Lakers can close the sale with Hurley, or if the UConn coach backs out and stays with the two-time defending national champions of college basketball. All the while, LeBron and Bronny James wait in the background, knowing this could affect what happens to them in the 2024-2025 basketball season.

Here’s Bilas on the Rich Eisen Show:

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Stephen A. Smith’s Darvin Ham-Dan Hurley false equivalency

Is Stephen A. Smith out of his mind when it comes to this take on former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham and current candidate Dan Hurley?

When the Los Angeles Lakers fired Darvin Ham after he had been their head coach for the last two seasons, many fans let out a sigh of relief. Some even celebrated.

The general consensus in Lakersland was that Ham was a decent motivator but lacking as a tactician. His lineup decisions and inability to make smart counters and adjustments on offense and defense were a big reason why the team only won 47 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs in five games to the Denver Nuggets.

Yet some prominent journalists in the national media felt the franchise acted in haste when it got rid of Ham.

Now, the Lakers are making a strong push to hire University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley to fill the spot once occupied by Ham. On Friday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith said that while he believes Hurley would be a great hire for L.A., the job Hurley would do with it could’ve been done by Ham.

This is a ludicrous take and a flat-out false equivalency.

While Ham did do well last season as a rookie head coach by unexpectedly guiding L.A. to the Western Conference Finals, he seemed to regress this year. He hasn’t shown any real talent as a tactician, and multiple reports indicated that his players didn’t trust or respect him.

Hurley, on the other hand, is regarded as a brilliant and even an innovative offensive mind. He also has the reputation of someone who knows how to build a winning culture and program, which is something the Lakers haven’t had since Phil Jackson left in 2011.

Perhaps Ham can become a decent NBA head coach someday. But at least right now, he doesn’t belong on the same page, let alone in the same chapter, as Hurley.

Perhaps that is why, according to one insider, the Lakers are prepared to offer Hurley a deal in the ballpark of $100 million over eight years to leave the Northeast and come to the Southland.