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Last Thursday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a bombshell report about the Los Angeles Lakers aggressively pursuing UConn’s Dan Hurley to be the storied franchise’s next head coach.
This sent shockwaves throughout the NBA and college basketball, as Hurley has been the best college coach for the last few years, winning back-to-back National Championships for the Huskies, which is extremely hard to do on the college level.
It seemed as though the Lakers were well on their way to making Hurley the successor to Darvin Ham in Los Angeles, as another report dropped about the team’s intention to offer him $100 million in guaranteed money.
Even though he has never coached a game on the professional level, Hurley seemed to be worth the money, as he would help change the culture in Los Angeles with a passionate and driven approach, which may have won over superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
However, after Hurley turned down the job on Monday to stay at UConn, it was reported that he was only offered $70 million over six years, which some, like Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, have taken issue with if the Lakers were indeed all-in on bringing him in.
Someone tell me if I’m wrong, but a six-year, $70 million contract does not seem like a massive offer in today’s NBA to attract a top coach from a great situation. https://t.co/fn0kRUeXhG
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 10, 2024
Here are some reactions to the Lakers’ contract offer to Hurley to try to get him to leave the Huskies:
The University of Kentucky also reportedly pursued Dan Hurley this offseason to become their head coach.
Kentucky’s offer was $11 million per year to become the highest paid coach in college basketball.
The Lakers decided to offer Hurley $11.6 million to see if he would jump at… pic.twitter.com/vilXEPAPum
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 10, 2024
That 6yr $70M contract for Dan Hurley doesn’t scream all in for me
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) June 10, 2024
Dan Hurley when the Lakers didn’t offer $100 million pic.twitter.com/FMZMxEpWbF
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) June 10, 2024
With Hurley and the Lakers forced to move on, the storied franchise will have a big void to fill at head coach, and its options are limited moving forward.
The notable candidates that have been mentioned include JJ Redick, James Borrego, and Jay Wright.
The post Everyone’s Saying The Same Thing About Lakers’ Contract Offer To Dan Hurley appeared first on The Cold Wire.