NBA
When will Dan Hurley decide if he will coach the Lakers next season?
The coach of the NCAA national champions, the UConn Huskies, set today (Monday) as the deadline for his decision on the Lakers’ coaching position.
Once again, Adrian Wojnarowski detonated an actual media bomb last week with the news that the Los Angeles Lakers executive board gave an offer to Dan Hurley from the University of Connecticut, the NCAA national men’s basketball champion in the last two seasons. All the talk on JJ Redick’s chance to coach the Lakers was immediately thrown to the water after Hurley’s name appeared in the media, where all the analytics and pundits gave much more opportunity and credibility to the experienced college basketball coach.
The Lakers also held talks with Pelicans assistant James Borrego, who was reportedly the only candidate to have two in-person meetings with the Lakers organization. The Lakers have had in-person meetings with other coaching candidates, including Denver assistant David Adelman and Minnesota assistant Micah Nori. Still, they only made a full-court press for the UConn coach to take over for Darvin Ham, who was fired after two seasons.
Dan Hurley’s decision and what offer is on the table
The Lakers are reportedly willing to make Hurley one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA. His contract at Connecticut is worth a reported $32.1 million over six years, a relatively low figure in a league that now includes several coaches earning eight figures per year. A large contract for Hurley would represent a meaningful change for a Lakers team and their philosophy on making financial commitments to coaches, especially considering the previous three coaches.
The series of coaches includes Ty Lue, who received and rejected their offer for a three-year contract, and later Franck Vogel, who accepted the offer. During Vogel’s time, the Lakers won the title in 2020, but he was only awarded a one-year extension. Darvin Ham, who was still on a developing coach pay level, never received a premier-tier money offer and had a $3.5 million-a-year contract.
The Lakers have been systematic and strategic in their approach to this hiring decision. They were able to keep their interest in Hurley under wraps for quite some time. Once it was revealed, they made a convincing argument to Hurley about taking over their team and their preparedness to stand behind any of the coaching decisions, as he explained to ESPN. The outcome of their efforts should be known by Monday night, set by Dan Hurley as the final day for maybe the biggest decision of his professional career as a coach.