Lakers 'target UConn boss Dan Hurley' for head coach job

The Los Angeles Lakers have been in contact with head coach Dan Hurley of the National Collegiate Athletic Association champion University of Connecticut Huskies in their search for a new boss, The Athletic reported on Thursday.

The purple and gold fired coach Darvin Ham after they were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets 4-1 in the Western Conference first-round playoffs. They are considering several candidates as a replacement, including ESPN broadcaster JJ Reddick, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego and now Hurley.

Hurley has been coaching UConn since March 2018 and led the team to back-to-back NCAA Division I Tournament titles in 2023 and 2024. Last year, he signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract with the school. The deal includes two buyout clauses. If he leaves for a college head-coaching job, it will be worth $7.5 million; if he departs for an NBA head-coaching job, it will be worth only $1.875 million.

Though Hurley has never coached in the NBA, his tactics of having his team shoot a lot of three-pointers and launch attacks via screens and handoffs fit the league well. Moreover, he doesn't force his team to play in a rigid system. Instead, Hurley gives them freedom to attack on the opponents' defense. This matters on LeBron James' team.

That's another major consideration for the Lakers in their search for a new coach. Though James is 39, he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game during the regular season and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team. With a great influence on the game, he has a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 campaign that expires on June 29. It will take a solid attitude of continuing to build a title contender by the Lakers to convince James to stay.

Currently in the NBA, Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls is the only head coach who has won a national championship in college. In league history, only Larry Brown has won titles both in the NCAA and NBA.