Dan Hurley could be headed to the NBA after winning back-to-back national championships at UConn.
Hurley is being heavily pursued for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching position, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Previously, former Duke and longtime NBA standout JJ Redick was thought to be the leader for this role.
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers are targeting Connecticut’s Dan Hurley to become the franchise’s next coach and are preparing a massive, long-term contract offer to bring the back-to-back national champion to the NBA, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/6WPrigPvAW
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 6, 2024
After winning the last 2 national championships at UConn, Hurley is widely-regarded as one of the best active coaches in the college game.
If he departs UConn at this point in the offseason, it could have a tremendous ripple effect on the rest of college hoops. The Huskies would presumably launch a search for a new head coach, which could impact other programs. Additionally, players on UConn’s roster would have 30 days to enter the transfer portal from when Hurley leaves the program.
Hurley’s appointment is not finalized, however, as Wojnarowski noted that the Lakers are set to make a “full-court press” in the coming days.
“The Lakers, over the next few days, are on a full-court press to convince Dan Hurley to come to LA,” Wojnarowski reported on Unsportsmanlike Radio on Thursday morning. “The Lakers, [general manager] Rob Pelinka, they want to put a program in-place in LA. They don’t want to just have coach-to-coach. They want to put a program in place for the long term. They want Dan Hurley’s player development program.”
UConn is currently a co-favorite to win the 2024-25 national championship at +1000 (alongside Kansas) according to the latest odds from FanDuel. Alabama at +1200 has the best odds of any SEC team.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
