Dan Hurley, the University of Connecticut coach who led the Lakers to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, is reportedly the favorite to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday (June 6) that the Lakers have decided to hire Hurley as their next head coach and are preparing a large, long-term contract offer to bring him to the NBA, according to sources.
According to Wojnarowski, 토토 the Lakers have already had preliminary contact with Hurley and the two sides plan to expand discussions in the coming days.
“Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss are eager to have formal discussions with Hurley to explore ways to combine his tactical acumen and elite player development program with the Lakers brand,” Wojnarowski said, adding that the two sides plan to expand discussions in the coming days.
The Lakers previously pursued Mike Szczepski, then the head coach at Duke University, 20 years ago in 2004.
“If LeBron James stays with the Lakers, the Lakers have the option of selecting his son, Brodie, with the No. 55 pick in this month’s NBA Draft,” Wojnarowski explained, “and if that happens, James will have the opportunity to play with his son.”
“The Lakers interviewed candidates including New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach James Borrego, Redick, Boston Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell and Denver Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman,” Wojnarowski said, “but Hurley was the focus of the Lakers’ head coaching search.”
Hurley was 141-58 (.709 winning percentage) in six years as the head coach at the University of Connecticut.
Hurley, who also won the title last year, was named to the All-NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Tournament, becoming the first coach in 17 years to win back-to-back titles since the University of Florida in 2006 and 2007. He also became the 16th coach in program history to win at least two titles in the tournament.