Will Dan Hurley make the big decision to head out West and take the Lakers’ head coaching job?
The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for a new head coach took an unexpected turn very early on Thursday morning when it was reported that they were targeting University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley.
Hurley has guided the Huskies to back-to-back national championships over the last two seasons, and at age 51, he is someone who could be at the helm of the Lakers for a while.
Right now, Hurley is reportedly unsure whether to join the Purple and Gold or stay with the Huskies and go after a threepeat.
“A source tells FOX Sports that Hurley is ‘truly at a 50-50’ in weighing his decision whether to make the leap up for LeBron James and the Lakers or stay in the college game and try to achieve something unthinkable in the modern era,” wrote John Fanta.
“‘He deals with things mentally where he’s constantly seeking to prove what he can do,’ a source told FOX Sports.”
The University of Connecticut has reportedly offered Hurley a new contract itself, and that will factor into his decision.
“As for Hurley’s current position, a source tells FOX Sports that the University of Connecticut has offered the coach a lucrative new contract that would make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, featuring significant widespread benefits for him. Hurley said Wednesday that ‘it’s complicated, and it’s taken more time (to get a deal done) than any of us would have liked. It’s not something that’s been a rush for me. You sacrifice a lot to do this job. The job beats your [expletive] pretty good, and a lot suffers with your family. Any chance at a social life, it consumes everything you have.’
“… Finances aside, a source says Hurley is weighing whether he wants to make this move. He has northeast roots and his father, Bob Sr., is 76, very involved in his life and a fixture at UConn games. His wife Andrea and boys, Dan and Andrew, are happy in the northeast but his sons are past college, so one would think that could make a move easier.
“‘His parents are still here and still very much a part of his life, and it’s convenient for the family to be in this part of the country,’ a source said. ‘But there’s that angle that there may never be a better opportunity than this one right now.'”
In 23 seasons as a head coach at the college level, Hurley has a stellar 292-163 record. His brother Bobby was a point guard at Duke University and in the NBA and is now the head coach at Arizona State University.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading this morning. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time today.
I remember what it was like when Kendrick Lamar dropped “Meet the Grahams.”
That was the moment the beef between him and Drake ended. It wasn’t even that the song was great — it was just about how cold and calculated it was.
Drake dropped his “Family Matters” diss at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night and had everyone thinking he’d just cooked Kendrick. An hour later, Kendrick drops a YouTube link. The first thing you hear are those piano chords and then, the next thing you know, Kendrick Lamar is reading Drake for filth. Drake could never recover.
Then, here comes Woj with details on the “accelerating” Hurley news with conversations expected to “escalate” in the coming days. Y’all know how the NBA Insider Speak goes — those are fighting words now.
Woj vs. Shams is the NBA media version of Kendrick vs. Drake. Woj put Shams on his first tour, basically! They’ve been battling for scoops ever since they separated. Usually, though, the battle is about who gets the story first.
Here, they kind of have two different stories. Somebody is right and somebody is wrong. It’s one of those “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us” situations.
To be fair to everyone here, a head coaching search is almost always a developing situation. Someone can be in the lead for a job and not necessarily be the ideal candidate for that team. Sometimes, other candidates come out of nowhere. That could easily be the case here with Redick and Hurley.
Hurley’s clearly a much better candidate with, ya know, actual head coaching experience! He doesn’t just talk about his ideas on podcasts — he’s executed them before. That probably makes him the ideal candidate for the job.
So Charania doesn’t necessarily have to be wrong here. He even explained how he got to where he did on Redick while confirming the Hurley news over at The Athletic. Redick was the first candidate to get a face-to-face meeting with the team. By all accounts, LA seriously considered him for the job and certainly still could if this Hurley move falls through (which is possible, by the way).
But hey, man. We’re going to get these jokes off one way or another. Somebody drop the NBA Insider version of “Not Like Us,” please. These virtual streets need it.
A’ja Wilson is your way-too-early WNBA M’VP
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
I mean, honestly, could it be anyone else at this point?
I know Napheesa Collier is having a fantastic season and the Lynx are 7-2 right now. Breanna Stewart is also having a great year with the Liberty. DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are also playing incredibly well for the undefeated Connecticut Sun.
But it can’t be anybody else but A’ja right now. She’s carrying like no one has ever carried before.
Wilson finished with 36 points, 14 rebounds, six steals, two assists and a block against the Stars on Wednesday. She became the first player in WNBA history ever to have at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five steals in a game, per ESPN.
A'ja Wilson is the first player in WNBA history with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a game 😮🔥 pic.twitter.com/CLnJNBC0c4
Like I said, nobody is carrying the way that she’s carrying right now.
It’s still early in the season and the Aces aren’t on the same tear as last season. It’s entirely possible this could change. But if she keeps this play up? It’ll be hard to center the conversation around anyone else but her.
Who will Sean Payton throw under the bus this time?
Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
Another year, another quarterback for Sean Payton to scapegoat after what will probably be another mediocre season in Denver.
According to DraftKings odds, Bo Nix is the favorite to become the Broncos’ starting quarterback this year. Our Robert Zeglinski said that also makes him the favorite to be thrown under the bus by Payton next year.
“Maybe Nix surprises everyone and keeps the Broncos afloat as a playoff contender in a stacked AFC. Crazier things have happened. But that scenario doesn’t feel all that feasible.
When push comes to shove, if Nix struggles — which is understandable because he’s a rookie on an awful team — rest assured that Payton will waste no time throwing him to the wolves in the interest of self-preservation. In that case, it won’t really work because the other options are Jarrett Stidham (gross) and Zach Wilson (yes, he’s still in the league).”
Best of luck, Bo Nix. And the rest of that QB room, too. You’re going to need it.
Quick hits: Why Dan Hurley makes sense in LA … New Vikings unis … and more
Do the Lakers want a coach known for development so they can help Bronny James?
Early on Thursday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski shocked the NBA world with a report about the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching vacancy.
According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are preparing a “massive, long-term” contract that would bring UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley from the college ranks to the NBA.
This is, obviously, a major change of pace from previous reports indicating that former NBA veteran and ESPN commentator JJ Redick was likely going to accept the gig after he completed his on-air duties for the NBA Finals.
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
To be clear, that isn’t to suggest that LeBron isn’t a fan of Hurley or what he has accomplished at UConn. In fact, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer posted a reply to a recent podcast appearance featuring Hurley with very high praise.
The host of that podcast was none other than Redick, who may assumed was previously the frontrunner to take over as head coach of the Lakers before the recent report about Hurley surfaced.
LeBron James loved what he saw from Dan Hurley's offense during the NCAA tournament 👀
LeBron is clearly impressed by Hurley and after two consecutive collegiate national championships, it is easy to see why.
But for all of his accolades and accomplishments that he has earned thus far, what he is most celebrated for is his ability to get the most out of young players. Even in ESPN’s initial report, Hurley’s “elite player development” is unsurprisingly one of the first traits mentioned.
That matters significantly, per Wojnarowski, and could mean a lot to the future of LeBron’s son Bronny:
“Assuming James returns to L.A. in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th pick in this month’s NBA draft on USC freshman guard Bronny James makes 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.”
Wojnarowski continued that thought during an appearance on ESPN’s UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio.
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) June 6, 2024
Here is more from Woj:
“You’re gonna have to grow your young players and the idea of Bronny James and the Lakers: They have the 55th pick. Who better potentially than Dan Hurley to be the development coach to lead his growth than the coach who has really dominated the college sport?”
For what it is worth, though, Bronny (a former McDonald’s All-American) did not receive an offer from Hurley and UConn when he was coming out of high school.
But of course, it isn’t just Bronny (who isn’t even on the Lakers roster at this point) that Los Angeles is considering when targeting Hurley.
“This is a decision and an idea for beyond LeBron James. I think Anthony Davis is at the forefront of this conversation … He wants to have a voice in this. He wants to be on the same page with this new head coach, whoever it is, and see how that new coach may use him, the actions he can put him in.”
Overall, the messaging is that this hire is not about a 39-year-old LeBron and more about the rest of the roster.
“LeBron told the Lakers they need to make a decision on their head coach that’s not just about me, it’s not just about what’s good for me for this year, next year … It’s going to be about what you need to do for your franchise. It’s going to be about Anthony Davis. That is what he said … He wants the Lakers to do what’s best for their team long-term. If the Lakers make a hire like this, it’s not for LeBron.”
There is a lot to unpack here but the reality is that Hurley has most of his experience coaching players like Bronny, who have the potential to improve but aren’t where they want to be as basketball players quite yet.
Does that mean he is incapable of coaching stars like LeBron and Davis?
We have seen him have tremendous success in the NCAA using NBA-style schemes and systems, so it could potentially translate.
When you watch Hurley coach, you can see why his message resonates well with players Bronny’s age and may not have that same impact on NBA vets. All things considered, this coach seems to make the most sense for a younger roster where the Lakers are a team loaded with experienced pros.
Dan Hurley is lining up to be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers are targeting UConn’s Dan Hurley as the franchise’s next head coach. Hurley, a former Rutgers basketball assistant who is from New Jersey, is coming off back-to-back national championships at UConn.
Hurley served as a Rutgers assistant from 1997-2001.He was the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2024 while with UConn.
According to ESPN, Hurley and the Lakers have already had preliminary contract talks and expect conversations to heat up in the coming days. Following a legendary run at UConn, Hurley could join one of the most iconic franchises in the NBA.
Over the last few years, UConn has become one of the premier programs in college basketball with Hurley at the helm. The Huskies made history just a few months ago when they became the NCAA’s first repeat champion in 17 years. Their 140-point differential was the biggest in tournament history.
Since Hurley took over six years ago, UConn has posted a 141-58 record. In the NCAA Tournament, they have won 12 straight games by double digits. Hurley has seemingly gotten the best out of his players every year, which is one reason the Lakers are interested in his services.
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
While the Lakers did make the playoffs this year, they were eliminated in the first round. That led to the dismissal of David Ham, who was 94-70 in two seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2023.
[lawrence-related id=38643,38640]
Although a deal is far from done, Hurley would be the most highly coveted coach to leave the college ranks in years. And the chance to coach LeBron James (and [autotag]Bronny James[/autotag]?) might be able to lure Hurley to the NBA.
Additionally, the Lakers have a young core that could benefit from Hurley’s leadership. Over the next few days, Hurley’s future will be one of the most watched storylines in the NBA.
The Los Angeles Lakers coaching search appeared to be over. After weeks of rumors that J.J. Redick was the leader in the clubhouse, The Athletic’s Sham Charania gave the news his stamp Wednesday with yet another report that LA was zeroing in on Redick as the frontrunner.
One day later, and that no longer seems to be the case. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Thursday morning that the Lakers are actually targeting UConn head coach Dan Hurley for the position.
Breaking: The Lakers are targeting UConn's Dan Hurley to become the franchise’s next coach, sources tell @wojespn.
The team has had preliminary contact with Hurley and the sides are planning to escalate discussions in coming days, sources say.
According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers are preparing a massive long-term offer to the back-to-back national champion Hurley. And not only have they already had preliminary talks with the coach, he’s been at the forefront of their search the entire time.
The Los Angeles Lakers are zeroing in on hiring UConn champion Dan Hurley as their new head coach.
The Los Angeles Lakers are zeroing in on making a hire to replace Darvin Ham as they look to move forward after a disappointing finish to the 2023-24 season. LA was ousted in five games in the first round by the Denver Nuggets prompting the Ham firing.
After talks of the potential replacement being somebody like former sharpshooter JJ Redick or former Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego, the Lakers are zeroing in on UConn champion coach Dan Hurley to be the new head man in LA.
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.
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 has a 292-163 collegiate coaching record at Wagner, Rhode Island, and UConn. He won a title with the Huskies in both 2023 and 2024 and will now look to take that type of success to the Lakers. He will have a lot of talent at his disposal led by LeBron James assuming he returns in free agency.
The back-to-back national champion basketball coach mentioned Kyle Shanahan as an inspiration behind his offense with the UConn Huskies.
Over the last two seasons, college basketball has been run by one team, the University of Connecticut Huskies. With another recent win over the Purdue Boilermakers to cap March Madness, UConn became the first team to win back-to-back national championships in basketball since the Florida Gators won a pair of titles in 2006 and 2007.
Coming off the success of another national title, UConn head coach Dan Hurley mentioned the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in a recent interview. In an appearance on Tommy Alter and J.J. Reddick’s podcast “The Old Man and the Three,” Hurley gave credit to Kyle Shanahan for inspiring his different offenses with the Huskies.
I think the inspiration the last two years, especially this year is like — watching college football now or [Kyle] Shanahan from the NFL, they’ll have like — obviously the pace and the tempo of their cuts and their actions.
But like how they’ll have trips out of the shotgun, with two in the backfield, and out of that formation, there’s like seven or eight different things they do out of — There’s a sweep, a play action, you know, a deep post right, all these different things.
So I think going into this year, me and Luke Murray, we got together, and we’re like, ‘you know, we want to have like, you know, 10 different formations…’
Dan Hurley talks recruiting and parents in building his UConn basketball program.
Dan Hurley’s success at UConn can be traced back to his recruiting philosophy. And for Hurley, the juggernaut that he has built at UConn is based on not getting the best athlete available.
In terms of recruiting, Hurley looks at certain critical factors, and many of them are away from the basketball court. In assessing a recruit, Hurley looks and asks “Have they played on seven different travel teams? Have they transferred to four or five different high schools?”
“They tell on themselves, they drop hints. You get the wrong kind of people in that inner circle around your players, they’ll sink your program,” Hurley said during a recent CBS interview.
“The locker room is so important, the personalities in that room. What they’re saying in that room after a tough loss.”
Hurley sees certain traits in a recruit – and their entourage – as big red flag. Certain recruits and their families have tendencies of “Becoming coach killers and program killers.”
I apologize. I should’ve put a link to the entire interview in my original post.
“With the way we do things as well as the focus that we put on winning here those five national championship banners and the 11 on the women’s side you prioritize winning here as a head coach or you won’t be coaching for very long.
“And we’ve passed on players with incredible measurable height and athleticism off the charts to bring somebody in here that is going to give us a better chance to win.
“And (that is) somebody that if the losing does start is going to help you be able to to respond.”
Duke the top team in the country in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25.
Less than 48 hours after Dan Hurley’s Connecticut Huskies completed one of the rare college basketball feats of repeating as national champions, the page has already turned to 2024-25 for the rest of the college basketball world.
ESPN made sure to get its Way-Too-Early Top 25 up late on Monday night, and the number one team in those rankings resides in Durham, NC.
Duke bowed out of the NCAA Tournament this season in the Elite Eight to an NC State team that spent the last 12 games playing incredibly inspired basketball. Duke led in the first half, but State overwhelmed Duke with incredible shotmaking and suffocating defense in the second half to send the Blue Devils home.
Duke is now in the process of reflecting and retooling for next year. There’s a renewed energy around the program as Scheyer will welcome the nation’s top recruiting class, highlighted by one of the most heralded number one high school basketball players since LeBron James, forward Cooper Flagg.
ESPN staff writer Jeff Borzello, who put the rankings together, said this about his decision to put the Blue Devils at the top spot.
“Duke entered this past season as a national title contender, but never quite seemed to put it all together for an extended stretch and ultimately fell in the Elite Eight. Jon Scheyer will have two of the best NBA prospects in the country next season, in No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg and projected top-five NBA draft pick Khaman Maluach, but the Blue Devils could have point guard issues if Jeremy Roach decides not to take advantage of his fifth option year.”
Borzello also published a projected starting five that featured Flagg, Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, Mark Mitchell, and Maluach. The issue is that Mitchell announced his intent to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday afternoon, so he will not be on the 2024-25 version of the Duke Blue Devils. Duke will likely opt to find a shooter to help space the floor with Flagg and also give those minutes vacated by Mitchell to rising sophomore Sean Stewart should he opt to return.
Tyrese Proctor has not announced whether he plans to enter the portal, opt for professional opportunities, or return to Duke. If we assume Proctor returns, he’s likely a captain and must leap like Wendell Moore. There’s a lot of talent there, but it needs to become consistent. A decision from Jeremy Roach also remains up in the air, and having a fifth-year senior could be massive.
All that aside, Duke plans to utilize the transfer portal, too, so Duke’s roster construction for next year is far from done, with more names expected on their way out, i.e., Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain, expected to be drafted in the first round.
There are reports that Kentucky is offering Dan Hurley as huge contract.
Current Connecticut coach Dan Hurley is the top option to replace John Calipari at Kentucky for most fans. He is also the apple of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart’s eye if reports are correct.
There are conflicting reports out there, but some are that Kentucky has made an offer to Hurley for $11 million per year for five years. That would make the two-time defending national championship coach the highest paid in the college basketball world.
John Calipari spent 15 years with the Wildcats, making several trips to the Final Four and winning a championship. However, in the last five seasons, the Cats struggled in March, winning just one NCAA Tournament game, and were on the receiving end of a couple of big upsets.
With Coach Cal off to Arkansas, Kentucky and Barnhart are leading their first coaching search in quite a while. A number of candidates have had their names mentioned, but Dan Hurley would be the homerun pick.
Hurley took over the Connecticut Huskies program in 2018. He got them back into the NCAA Tournament in 2021, and two years later they won a national championship. Then, they repeated as champs this year.
The hire of Hurley would be a big one for Kentucky, but an expensive one. However, it would likely pay dividends. He has proven he is an elite coach, and Wildcats fans would be happy about it.
For now, there are only reports and no evidence, so fans will continue to wait for news on all of the candidates, but Hurley most of all.
