The Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search has prominently mentioned two candidates since the team’s elimination in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs: the supposed front-runner J.J. Redick, and former Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego. The Lakers reportedly have another big name on their list, and it would send shockwaves through every level of the sport if they can pull it off.
The Lakers are preparing a big offer to UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley to become the franchise’s next head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hurley is coming off back-to-back national championships with the Huskies in two of the most dominant NCAA tournament runs the sport has ever seen. Hurley, at 51 years old, already has nothing to prove at the college level. Could he be ready to make his own leap to the pros?
Lakers star LeBron James praised Hurley recently for his brilliant tactical ability. The Lakers seemed to be on the verge of hiring Redick as their next head coach, but seemingly have to wait until the 2024 NBA Finals are over, because Redick is serving as the ESPN color commentator for the series. Reports of their interest in Hurley throws everything into flux.
The Lakers and Hurley have had preliminary contact, according to Woj. Hurley is going to hear out the Lakers’ pitch in the coming days. The Lakers are reportedly prepping a massive contract offer that would blow his UConn salary out of the water.
Hurley’s was mentioned as a top candidate for the Kentucky job after John Calipari bolted for Arkansas, but he quickly turned down interest. UConn lost a ton of talent off its 2024 championship team, but Hurley reloaded the roster nicely in the transfer portal and would have a chance to win a third straight national championship.
The Lakers’ job is potentially the mountain top of the sport, but is it really a good job? Here are four reasons Hurley should be careful about what LA has to offer.
The Lakers’ roster is good, but it’s not nearly good enough
The Lakers have been the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference each of the last two seasons. Yes, the team made a Cinderella run to the Western Conference Finals in 2023, but that ended in a sweep to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. The Lakers had much better health out of James and Anthony Davis this season, with Davis playing 76 games and James playing 71. The team improved from 43 wins to 47 wins, but it still lost in the first round in a five-game series to the Nuggets.
James is a free agent this summer, but all indications are that he would prefer to return. D’Angelo Russell is expected to decline his player option and become a free agent coming off a strong season. Otherwise, the Lakers’ roster is locked in, and it won’t have real cap space to add pieces in free agency. The Lakers could trade up to three first round picks at the time of the draft if they want to swing for another star or better role players.
The Lakers are pretty good, but they do not have anything close to a championship-level team. They have to show maximum urgency in building one, because ....
LeBron James turns 40 years old this year
James turns 40 in Dec. He is still one of the 10 best players in the NBA in my estimation, but he’s objectively at the twilight of his career. If Hurley takes this job, life without James is coming at him in two or three seasons at the most.
There’s simply no way to replace someone like James. The Cleveland Cavaliers went into the gutter both times after he left. The Miami Heat slipped out of the playoffs and into irrelevancy after James left, too. Even with Davis signed long-term, the Lakers are likely looking at a rebuild post-James, where they will again go hunting for superstars in free agency or the trade market. It won’t happen overnight.
The West is loaded
It would be a different story if the Lakers were in the East. In the West, it’s hard to see this team breaking through given all the young, ascendant talent in the conference.
Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are the two best players in the world, and both are firmly in their primes for the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks respectively. The Oklahoma City Thunder have an MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two great co-stars, and a million future draft picks. The Timberwolves have Anthony Edwards and the league’s top defense. The Grizzlies are going to be a factor next year with the return of Ja Morant.
And by the way, Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs are coming. It’s only a matter of time before Wemby is the best player in the world, and the Spurs are competing for championships. Realistically, it’s hard to see how the Lakers have a long-term or short-term path to championship contention. However ..
The Lakers job brings more pressure than any other
The NBA is not a patient league. The Phoenix Suns just fired Frank Vogel one year into a five-year contract. The Lakers fired Darvin Ham despite leading the team to an unlikely conference finals bid in 2023. With James still playing at a high level as he turns 40, the expectation will be that Hurley turns the team into a championship contender right away.
That’s going to be extremely different given the state of the Lakers’ roster, and given the state of the Western Conference.
You can make an argument that the Lakers job is the single worst job in the NBA right now. The fanbase wants championships but the roster isn’t close to getting there. James holds a ton of power within the organization, which he could flex with his son Bronny James hitting the 2024 NBA Draft. The aftermath of James’ eventual retirement could be ugly.
There are still 2 big reasons Hurley might want to take the Lakers job
- Competition
- Money
Hurley is an absolute psychopath as a competitor. What does he really have to prove in college basketball at this point? He become the first coach to win back-to-back national titles since Billy Donovan at Florida, and he also quickly jumped to the NBA. This era of college basketball is defined by the transfer portal and NIL market, and UConn is never going to pay top dollar in college basketball’s free agency. Hurley always wants to win at the highest level, and the NBA is the only challenge left.
I spent a few days around Hurley while covering the 2024 Final Four. What I saw was the most competitive head coach I’ve ever been around. To go from coaching high school ball in New Jersey a decade ago to coaching the Lakers would be one of the greatest basketball coaching stories ever.
The Lakers can also play Hurley a lot more money than he’ll ever make at UConn. Hurley makes about $3.5 million per year at UConn. He reportedly made $7 million this past season with every bonus triggered. The Lakers are likely about to put $100 million guaranteed in front of him. He’s going to get triple the money in the NBA that he can make in college.
Yes, Hurley is a life-long East Coast guy. His family is comfortable at UConn, and he knows he can win there. But at the end of the day, competitors like Hurley always want the next challenge, and college basketball isn’t really a challenge for him anymore.
How would Hurley’s personality play with pros? He’s the most intense coach in college basketball, someone who is always on a verge of a total freak out. That might work well with college kids, but will NBA players really respond to that well? Can he tone it down and still be the same guy?
The Lakers job is not a good job, but that doesn’t mean Hurley won’t take it. One thing is for sure: every college basketball program in America outside of Storrs is suddenly a huge Lakers fan. High school, college, and NBA ball would all be massively impacted if Hurley takes the job.
