Dan Hurley explains Lakers rejection: how much does he earn at UConn?

UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has explained why he turned down the opportunity to lead the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the NBA’s biggest and most successful teams. The 51-year-old met with franchises bosses in California last Friday but it was revealed on Monday that he had rejected a six-year, $70 million contract to coach the Lakers.

Dan Hurley’s current contract with the UConn Huskies

Not that Hurley is doing too badly for himself with his current employers. According to the Connecticut Post, he is one year into a six-year deal with UConn worth $31.5 million, making him the highest paid state employee in Connecticut history. However, those terms are expected to be improved after he knocked back the Lakers. Hurley has dismissed suggestions he only held talks with the Lakers to force UConn into bumping up his salary.

Speaking at UConn’s basketball headquarters on Thursday, Hurley said he asked himself one simple question to help him make up his mind: “Where do you belong?”

What did Hurley say about rejecting the Lakers?

“It was obviously tempting. The Lakers organization is just incredible, once in a lifetime to be presented with the opportunity to lead one of the most storied franchises in sports. It was a good chance to get to know some amazing people, but in the end there were too many reasons to be here.

“You think about the two places you are trying to choose between. You are coaching the back-to-back champs at UConn or the LA Lakers. There aren’t many coaches who had to make that choice between those two options for your career.”

Hurley has a 141-58 record across his six seasons in charge of the Huskies, with his most recent achievements especially impressive.

UConn are 68-11 in the last two years, in which they have been crowned NCAA Division I champions back-to-back. Hurley will now be hoping to coach only the second program to win three in a row after UCLA, who won seven straight men’s titles between 1967 and 1973.