The “why” makes for great commentary fodder. Did Dan Hurley ultimately decide he couldn't leave his freshman year, the Huskies, and the East Coast? Was this all a negotiation to extract more money from the University of Connecticut? (Reporters close to Hurley say no; he was genuinely struggling with the decision.) Was the Lakers' offer a lowball? (Let's not call $11.7 million, double his current salary, “lowball,” but it wasn't a godfather offer he couldn't refuse.) A little bit of all of the above?
Ultimately, why is up for debate. Dan Hurley turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers to stay at the University of Connecticut..
The bigger question is, where do the Lakers go from here? What is the plan?
Hurley felt like a home run swing for the Lakers. Can they hit another one? Or are they looking to sneak a double up the line? A surefire single?
What the Lakers are looking for in a coach sounds more like a fantasy wish list than reality: a “grinder” who can ruthlessly game plan, command the locker room, hold players accountable and is extremely good at player development (not only can't one coach embody all of these things, but good player development is organic, not coach-driven).
The Lakers head coaching position is arguably one of the most prestigious jobs in basketball, but it comes with plenty of warning signs for the coaches who have the options (like Hurley, Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue a few years ago). Talent ultimately wins in the NBA, and the Lakers have finished seventh or worse in the West in 11 of the past 12 years (the exception being the 2020 COVID-19 season, when they won). What's even more concerning about attracting talent is that even winning coaches don't last long. Frank Vogel won a title with the Lakers, and Darvin Ham led them to the Western Conference Finals last season. No Lakers coach has lasted more than three seasons since Phil Jackson.
Where do the Lakers go from here? Is there a plan?
The obvious answer is that the Lakers will resume negotiations with J.J. Redick and James Borrego. How far along those negotiations are will depend on who's doing the spinning. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports. The two never had serious conversations (though rumors were rife and some in the organization assumed Redick would end up getting the job). Borrego is a proven, experienced coach who is considered a strong offensive mind but didn't make it in Charlotte. Redick is more well-known and is LeBron James' partner on his podcast and could grow into the job, but his complete lack of coaching experience would make it a big gamble.
Mark Stein mentioned some interesting names in his newsletter.: Former Villanova coach Jay Wright. A few years ago, this guy was the guy NBA front offices were crazy about. Not only does he have the X's and O's skills, he has shown great player development skills and his temperament seems better suited to coaching in the NBA than Hurley. The question is, does Wright want to get back into coaching? Would it be hard for him to turn down an offer like the one thrown at Hurley? If not Wright, is there another rock star college coach ready to jump into the NBA?
Regardless of who is hired, the Lakers need stability. It's been lip service up until now, but now they have to put it into practice. They need a coach who can develop players and grow the program and culture, but that takes time. The Lakers have always acquired stars in free agency or through trades, but they were flying the flag because they developed a core of talented young players who could work with those stars. Byron Scott, AC Green, and others in the Showtime era, and Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, and others on future championship teams. If you look at the teams that will be competing in this year's NBA Finals, you will notice that they are drafting and developing role players around their stars to make everything work.
All that's certain for now is that the Lakers will take their time, which will likely continue until after the NBA Finals, but they reportedly want to name a coach before the NBA Draft, so they have some time.
But what is the plan?
