Dan Hurley’s future will come into focus sooner rather than later.
The UConn men’s basketball coach plans to make a decision on whether he’ll stay with the Huskies or make the jump to the NBA and coach the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Sunday night.
The Lakers reportedly made a “compelling case” to Hurley and were preparing a “massive” contract offer to their “No. 1 candidate” that left Hurley “thoroughly impressed.”
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The college coach traveled to Los Angeles on Thursday and spent Friday with the Lakers before he returned home on Sunday morning.
Hurley has made his desire known that he’d like to be an NBA coach at some point in his career. With the success he’s had at UConn, and with the chance to three-peat as national champions, it’s unclear if he’ll leave behind a strong collegiate team for an NBA team that might be looking to rebuild.
News of the Lakers eyeing Hurley for their vacant coaching position came in the wake of another report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania stating NBA analyst and former player J.J. Redick is the frontrunner for the job.
Redick, who will be calling the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, has never been a coach above the youth level.
“I would say this, my focus right now is on calling the NBA Finals,” Redick said during a recent appearance on the “GoJo and Golic” podcast. “I’m so fortunate that I’m in this position to call these Finals with Doris (Burke) and Mike (Breen). My day-to-day right now is consumed with calling games, the 19 different podcasts I feel like I have (and) my obligations to all of our partners, so my focus is on the NBA Finals.”
Aside from Hurley and Redick, the Lakers have also interviewed Celtics assistant Sam Cassell, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman and Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn.
