The Los Angeles Lakers are
reportedly targeting University of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley for
their vacant head coaching job, according to ESPN’s 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.
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.
