Jovan Buha, Brendan Quinn, Dana O'Neill
Dan Hurley won't be going to the NBA after all: The University of Connecticut coach turned down a six-year, $70 million contract offer from the Los Angeles Lakers to become the team's next head coach, team and league sources confirmed Monday.
Los Angeles would have made Hurley one of the six highest-paid coaches in the NBA, but he will return to UConn and seek a third consecutive national championship, a feat that has been accomplished only once in NCAA men's basketball history, when John Wooden's UCLA won seven straight championships from 1967-1973.
The 51-year-old Hurley publicly emerged as a possible candidate for the Lakers last week. Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and team president Jeanie Buss made an aggressive pitch to Hurley on Friday in Los Angeles. But it wasn't convincing enough, as Hurley has solidified himself as the top active coach in college basketball by leading the University of Connecticut to consecutive national championships in 2023 and 2024.
Going deeper
They say you shouldn't let anything get in the way of your happiness. Surprisingly, Dan Hurley didn't do that.
The Lakers, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, have been searching for a head coach since firing head coach Darvin Ham on May 3 after two seasons.
The Lakers' plans remain unchanged, according to league sources. Their goal is to have a coach named by the June 26 NBA draft — the sooner the better. They will continue the interview and information-gathering process, led by ESPN analyst and podcaster JJ Redick and New Orleans Pelicans associate coach James Borrego, who maintains a strong relationship with All-NBA big man Anthony Davis.
Redick, who was considered the league's top prospect before Hurley's emergence, remains so, according to league sources, but it's unclear how the Lakers' pursuit of Hurley will affect Redick's interest or future negotiations.
Hurley had not been mentioned as a candidate for the position until last Thursday, and his inclusion in the selection process came as a surprise to some within the Lakers.
Either way, the Lakers plan to move forward with their coaching search, which is now in its sixth week.
The hire is crucial because Los Angeles wants to keep star LeBron James, who must decide by June 29 whether to exercise his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. The Lakers are open to any contract structure that would keep James in Los Angeles, league sources said. Athletic.
This isn't the first time a big-name college coach has turned down an NBA coaching job. Hurley's decision to stay in Storrs, Connecticut, comes 20 years after Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski turned down an offer to coach the Lakers after winning three of his five national championships at Duke. Even former Laker Kobe Bryant reportedly tried to convince Krzyzewski to take the job.
History is repeating itself for the Los Angeles Lakers.
2004: Coach K says no to the Lakers
2024: Dan Hurley says no to Lakers pic.twitter.com/EiUXbkZLIP— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) June 10, 2024
In 2010, after nine days of deliberation, Tom Izzo turned down the coaching job with James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to return to Michigan State. Billy Donovan was close to becoming the coach of the Orlando Magic in 2007, even holding a press conference to announce his appointment, but he withdrew at the last minute and returned to Florida, where he won back-to-back titles. Donovan eventually left Florida to join the NBA in 2015.
Going deeper
With Hurley in negotiations with the Lakers, how does a college coach fare in the NBA?
Hurley's decision is a win for the University of Connecticut, which is projected to finish in the preseason top five. Hurley's six-year, $32.1 million contract, which expires in 2023, included a $1.875 million buyout if he takes an NBA head coaching job, but a $7.5 million buyout if he takes another collegiate position.
It's fair for Connecticut fans to wonder how long they'll keep Hurley around and what he'll do the next time NBA interest shows up, but for now, this win will feel like another national championship parade.
UConn, a Big East player with an independent football program, has always found itself in an underdog position in the college sports landscape, where schools with football programs in stronger conferences outperform it in revenue. The idea of losing Hurley generated more anxiety than just his performance on the court next season. Retaining Hurley would give the school one of the strongest and most marketable programs in college sports.
Hurley has built two title teams with very different lineups, and now he has a chance to win his third straight and make history.
The Huskies will be missing stars Donovan Clingan and Tristan Newton for the 2024-25 season, but Alex Karavan, Hassan Diarra and Jaylin Stewart will be the core of a team that has rebuilt and reassembled through both the transfer portal and a top-10 recruiting class.
Must Read
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
