Dan Hurley turns down Lakers coaching offer, will stay at Connecticut

Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, who darted to the front of the Lakers’ coaching search in a surprise turn last week, turned down a six-year, $70-million offer to leave the defending NCAA champion Huskies, according to people with knowledge of the decision not authorized to speak publicly.

The failed pursuit, which comes 20 years after the Lakers tried — and failed — to hire then-Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, leaves the Lakers in a peculiar position of being without a head coach more than a week into June.

The Lakers’ interest in Hurley was kept incredibly secretive until ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news early Thursday, triggering a wild four-plus days of speculation set against the opening two games of the NBA Finals.

The general belief outside of the Lakers’ organization before the report was that former player and current broadcaster JJ Redick had been the longtime favorite for the job. Still, only New Orleans assistant James Borrego, who previously coached in Charlotte, had been in Los Angeles for interviews with Lakers executives. Redick, according to people with knowledge of the situation, has not undergone similar interviews, though he has spoken with executive vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka.

Read more: Plaschke: Dan Hurley rejection is another humiliation for Lakers brand

It’s expected the Lakers will refocus there, though it’s not immediately clear what the next steps are. Redick is still an analyst on the NBA Finals for ESPN, and Borrego is considered a top candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers opening.

Both faded to the background as the Lakers took a big swing for Hurley.

Hurley met with Pelinka and controlling owner Jeanie Buss on Friday in Los Angeles before returning to the East Coast. He was at a Billy Joel concert Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York before returning to campus Monday, when his team had a scheduled practice.

In the hours leading up to Hurley’s decision, word began to spread through some coaching circles that he’d return to UConn. However, information about the process, which was more insulated than most NBA transactions, was incredibly…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dan-hurley-turns-down-lakers-175035122.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-06-10 17:50:35

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