The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly targeting University of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley for their vacant head coaching job, according todt sports Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Woj, the back-to-back NCAA coach for the UConn Huskies has been the Lakers’ top-secret target after previous reports suggested that the franchise has been in contact with several other names in the NBA space. Former player and now-ESPN analyst JJ Redick and Charlotte Hornets’ top assistant James Borrego were among those mentioned in reports.
The Lakers have already been reported to have met with Hurley for initial meetings and their discussions are expected to ramp up in a few days, with the franchise preparing a massive, long-term contract offer to pry Hurley to the NBA.
Dan Hurley for head coaching job
ANALYSIS: With Hurley’s name thrown to the Lakers’ head coaching job candidates, this could mean that Redick’s opportunity with the Lakers could either turn out to be a smokescreen for the grander scheme of things of plans by the Lakers to hire the NCAA champion coach. Numerous reports have already been out there with Redick’s name as the top candidate for the franchise’s head coaching job and with this development, this shakes things up for a lot of reasons.
More notably, signing Hurley would mean the Lakers are going all-in with their pitch to make superstar LeBron James stay with the team, pending his decision in free agency. LeBron has expressly shown on social media platforms like X and Instagram his admiration for Hurley and his creative and innovative offensive schemes.
Furthermore, Hurley seems like the type of coach who LeBron might listen to and/or is good enough/brave enough to coach LeBron considering the type of player that he is on and off the floor.
Lastly, Hurley’s possible hiring would likely affect the Lakers’ drafting process in which LeBron’s son Bronny James could likely be drafted to the team using its 55th pick in the upcoming draft. Hurley has been known as a master in player development and could potentially help the younger James’ growth moving forward.