UConn coach Dan Hurley traveled to Southern California for a Friday assembly with Los Angeles Lakers vp of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and proprietor Jeanie Buss — with the group keen to shut on a deal to rent the two-time nationwide championship coach, sources informed ESPN on Thursday.
The Lakers’ pursuit of Hurley to turn into the franchise’s subsequent coach has accelerated and the edges are already discussing the contractual parameters of a possible deal that might be important in its size and wage, sources mentioned.
Hurley has not decided about exiting UConn for the NBA, however there’s momentum in these discussions, sources mentioned. He knowledgeable UConn’s administration Wednesday of his curiosity in speaking to the Lakers — and his gamers of the talks on Thursday, sources mentioned.
UConn has gained back-to-back NCAA titles — together with a file 12 straight double-digit event victories — and has a top-five staff returning subsequent season.
Hurley has been on the forefront of the Lakers’ search from the start of the method, even whereas the group has performed its due diligence interviewing a number of different candidates, sources mentioned. Solely New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego had two in-person interviews in Los Angeles, sources mentioned.
Pelinka and Buss are desperate to formally focus on with Hurley their imaginative and prescient of marrying his dominant program — constructed upon his tactical acumen and elite participant improvement — with the storied Lakers model, sources mentioned.
Hurley, 51, has usually described his ambition to at some point coach within the NBA and has expressed to the Lakers a want to discover the total image of a partnership with one in all basketball’s winningest franchises, sources mentioned.
The pursuit of Hurley comes on the twentieth anniversary of the Lakers attempting to rent Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to a record-breaking contract in 2004. Krzyzewski elected to stay at Duke, however the local weather has dramatically modified in school athletics, and the calls for of NIL fundraising for non-power-football colleges comparable to UConn are an particularly relentless grind — and anticipated to turn into much more troublesome.
As for the Lakers’ stars, LeBron James has been impressed with Hurley’s subtle offensive actions, and assuming he returns to Los Angeles in free company, the potential for utilizing the fifty fifth total draft choose on USC freshman guard Bronny James makes Hurley an much more intriguing candidate. If that occurs, James will get an opportunity to play along with his son and the advantage of Hurley and his workers turning into chargeable for Bronny’s professional improvement.
In a social media publish in April responding to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James posted on X about Hurley: “He is so DAMN GOOD!!! Alongside along with his workers. Tremendous artistic with their [offense]! Find it irresistible.”
The Lakers have been dedicated to creating All-NBA ahead Anthony Davis a big a part of the dialog on the following head coach and wish to make it possible for he’s aligned with how a brand new coach plans to function him on offense and protection, sources mentioned.
Los Angeles has proceeded with conversations with different candidates over the previous few weeks, however the potential of touchdown Hurley has been the main target of the search, sources mentioned.
A part of the attract of Hurley traces again to the altering panorama of NBA roster constructing below the collective bargaining settlement. Due to the roster-building limitations of the brand new second apron, the flexibility of big-market groups to assemble contending rosters by buying and selling a number of draft picks and younger gamers for a 3rd star participant has largely been eradicated. Past the seventeenth total choose within the June draft, the Lakers have a younger core of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie that administration believes might present even better enchancment below Hurley’s teaching, sources mentioned.
After traditionally dominant back-to-back nationwide title seasons, Hurley has emerged as probably the most coveted coach within the sport — and the potential for him leaving UConn and the Massive East for the Lakers has large implications for school basketball and the NBA. Hurley has constructed a juggernaut that has lapped the game, culminating with the NCAA’s first repeat champion in 17 years and a efficiency that produced the most important level differential in event historical past at 140 factors.
The opportunity of UConn successful a 3rd straight title does loom with the return of a preseason top-five staff, however the Huskies did lose two lottery picks (heart Donovan Clingan and guard Stephon Fort) and a first-team All-American level guard (Tristan Newton) to the NBA draft.
The Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham after a first-round exit within the Western Convention playoffs. Ham was 94-70 in two seasons, together with a visit to the Western Convention finals in 2023.
Hurley is 141-58 (.709) in six seasons as UConn coach. The son of Naismith Basketball Corridor of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr. — whom Hurley performed for at famed St. Anthony Excessive College of Jersey Metropolis, New Jersey — Dan Hurley spent 9 years as a highschool coach at St. Benedict’s Prep earlier than quickly rebuilding school packages at Wagner and Rhode Island. His older brother, Bobby, is the pinnacle coach at Arizona State.