After days of speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers will ultimately have to switch their attention to other coaching candidates as Dan Hurley reportedly decided to continue at the helm of the UConn Huskies.
It’s been more than a month since the franchise parted with Darvin Ham, who already has a new job by now. While the franchise hopes LeBron James opts into his player option, no one knows who would be his coach next season.
According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Hurley’s latest rejection leaves the Lakers with the following options: New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, and JJ Redick.
The latter seemed to be in pole position to become the Lakers’ head coach not long ago, just before the Hurley rumors started to make headlines. But Redick’s lack of coaching experience raises question marks around him.
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during game four of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Before Hurley, the Lakers had to cross other candidates off their list, with Tyronn Lue signing an extension with the Clippers, while Mike Budenholzer took the reins of the Phoenix Suns.
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The ‘stealth’ candidate for the Lakers’ coaching vacancy
While the aforementioned candidates seem to lead the race for the Lakers’ opening, NBA Insider Marc Stein claims former Villanova head coach Jay Wright could also be a name to watch :
“I had been warned early on by one well-placed insider, for what it’s worth, to stay ready in case former Villanova coach Jay Wright emerged as a stealth candidate,” Stein reported Sunday.
Why did Hurley turn down the Lakers’ offer?
According to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers made Hurley a six-year, $70 million offer to become the Lakers head coach. While that’s not even close to the kind of deal that was reported days ago, it looks like Hurley’s decision to stay at UConn has nothing to do with money.
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Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 reports that Hurley was ultimately tempted by the possibility of chasing a third consecutive NCAA title, even if it meant turning down a huge job opportunity in LA:
“According to my sources, he flipped (his decision). He may have flipped a few times here… But this was not an easy decision and this was not a money decision because obviously the Lakers were paying him probably a little bit more than $70 million for six years, so you’re talking in the neighborhood of $12 million a year where UConn is gonna pay him a little over $8 million a year… But comfort meant something to him, also the fact obviously of doing something that hasn’t been done since the early ‘70s by John Wooden’s UCLA teams, three-peating.”
