By GREG BEACHAM
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers must continue their latest coaching search with the basketball world already knowing their first choice turned them down.
The Lakers have endured their share of embarrassments in recent years, but a snub by a college coach — even the best in the game — is among the roughest setbacks yet.
Dan Hurley met with the Lakers last week and then rejected their very public courtship Monday. The coach probably emerged from his dalliance with the leverage to finish a lucrative new contract at UConn.
But what’s next for the Lakers, a franchise with 17 championships, a world-renowned brand, two of the sport’s top players and no head coach?
They must resume a search that has stretched well into its second month since Darvin Ham’s firing May 3 and has yet to produce a slam-dunk choice. Nearly every leaked discussion of the Lakers’ search included three top candidates — each of whom would have arrived on the West Coast with question marks.
Although Hurley is one of the most respected names in the sport after the Huskies’ success over the past two years, he’s never worked in the NBA. Former player J.J. Redick has never coached at all, and James Borrego has been an NBA head coach for 4 1/2 seasons without ever making the playoffs.
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Redick and Borrego are still candidates to run the Lakers, which would seem to be one of the most desirable jobs in sports — but the charitable interpretation of this current search is that owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka are struggling to find the right fit for their vision.
Many fans are wondering whether Buss and Pelinka have a vision at all, what with the Lakers’ years of roster upheaval and mediocre supporting casts around LeBron James. They’re also wondering whether each passing week increases the chance that the 39-year-old James will turn down his $51.4 million contract option later this month and become a free agent.
The Lakers last won a championship when James and Anthony Davis raised the trophy in the Florida bubble four years ago, and they’ve tried to maximize their chances in the remaining years of James’ career by changing coaches and/or jettisoning multiple players after nearly every failed season.
This hire might be their final chance to get the right coaching staff for James — and Hurley’s rejection clearly hurts.
Hiring Redick would be a major risk, albeit with a significant potential upside. It’s unclear whether Redick would even want to disrupt his burgeoning career in media for the stress of a head coaching job.
Borrego represents management experience and coaching pedigree, but he has yet to distinguish himself in a top job — and he’s also a candidate for Cleveland’s vacancy.
The Lakers are expected to talk to other candidates in the days ahead, perhaps widening their search to include names not even currently in the discussion. But they probably can’t even default to arguably the most experienced, most successful veteran NBA head coach currently on the free-agent market.
That’s because Frank Vogel won a ring with the Lakers in October 2020 and got fired exactly 18 months later.
Vogel wasn’t even the Lakers’ first choice in 2019: According to multiple reports, the Lakers nearly hired Tyronn Lue before the deal fell apart over money and the front office’s desire to have a say on his staff. Lue ended up with the Clippers, where he remains. That negotiation has remained an embarrassment for the Lakers even after their fallback choice won a championship.
After firing Vogel in 2022 when Pelinka’s veteran-laden, injury-plagued roster missed the playoffs with a humiliating 33-49 record, the Lakers went through another six-week search before settling on Ham. The once-and-future Milwaukee Bucks assistant clearly didn’t impress the front office or his players enough to keep his job even after two winning seasons, two playoff berths and a Western Conference finals appearance.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
FAQs
Now, he's opening up about why. STORRS, Conn. — Dan Hurley considered the opportunity to try and lead UConn to a third consecutive national title or the chance to become coach of one of the NBA's most storied franchises and asked himself one question.
Who are the Lakers looking for head coach? ›
The Los Angeles Lakers are set to hire JJ Redick to be the franchise's next head coach, according to reports. Nearly two months after their season ended, the Los Angeles Lakers have finally found their new head coach.
Who did the Lakers hire as their head coach? ›
The Los Angeles Lakers introduced former NBA player and ESPN NBA analyst JJ Redick as the team's new head coach on Monday. Redick becomes the 29th coach in the franchise's history.
Who are the Lakers looking for a new head coach after Dan Hurley turned them down? ›
Lakers' search continues
With Hurley staying at UConn, J.J. Redick remains the frontrunner for the job, with other names like James Borrego, Kenny Atkinson, David Adelman, Sam Cassell, and Micah Nori still in contention.
Who is the coach of the Lakers in 2024? ›
The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a four-year contract with JJ Redick as the team's next head coach, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports, citing unnamed sources. The 39-year-old replaces Darvin Ham who was fired in May after two seasons with the Lakers.
How much money did the Lakers offer Dan Hurley to coach? ›
Hurley — 141-58 in six seasons with the Huskies and 292-163 overall entering his 15th as a Division I head coach — acknowledged that the Lakers' six-year, $70 million offer was “obviously tempting.” He was also mentioned as a candidate for the Kentucky coaching vacancy after John Calipari left for Arkansas.
Who would be a good coach for the Lakers? ›
1. JJ Redick. Despite the lack of coaching experience, there's a reason Redick was gaining so much traction for the Lakers' job before the Hurley offer. As long as LeBron James is part of the franchise, his relationship with the head coach matters.
Who is the Lakers legendary head coach? ›
Phil Jackson is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (902), most playoff games coached (181), most regular-season game wins (610), and most playoff wins (118).
How much does Dan Hurley make? ›
Hurley will have a base salary of $400,000 each year, as well as a $1 million annual retention bonus. He will also earn $6.375 million for the 2024-25 season for “speaking, consulting and media obligations,” according to UConn's press release, which added that figure will increase each year.
Who is the new coaching staff for the Lakers? ›
The Los Angeles Lakers have named Nate McMillan, Scott Brooks, Bob Beyer, Greg St. Jean, Lindsey Harding and Beau Levesque as assistant coaches on Head Coach JJ Redick's staff.
Sources told ESPN that Redick had a lengthy conversation with Lakers' general manager Rob Pelinka during the Chicago draft combine in mid-May.
Why did the Lakers hire JJ Reddick? ›
Pelinka became sold on Redick's ability to connect with players and his basketball IQ and believes surrounding Redick with an elite coaching staff will help shorten his learning curve into his first coaching job, sources said.
Who will be the next Lakers head coach? ›
It's been a wild few weeks. Just last week, the Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Redick to become the franchise's next head coach, after UConn's Dan Hurley turned down the initial offer, and the Cavaliers hired Kenny Atkinson to replace Bickerstaff in Cleveland.
Did Hurley turn down the Lakers offer? ›
“Where do you belong?” Hurley said Thursday at UConn's basketball headquarters. The answer became clear to Hurley and his family as he turned down a six-year, $70 million offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. “It was obviously tempting,” Hurley said.
Who turned down the Lakers coach? ›
Hurley, who turned down a six-year, $70 million offer to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers to remain UConn's head coach and try for a three-peat, seemed happy to have put the decision in the rearview mirror and focus solely on basketball once again.
What college coach turns down the Lakers offer? ›
AP AUDIO: Dan Hurley turns down offer from Lakers, will stay at UConn to seek 3rd straight NCAA title. One of college basketball's top coaches is staying put despite being given the chance to coach one of the NBA's premier franchises.
How did Pat Riley start coaching the Lakers? ›
Los Angeles Lakers (1979–1990) Riley returned to the NBA in 1977 as a broadcaster for the Lakers. In November 1979, after the team's head coach, Jack McKinney, was injured in a near-fatal bicycle accident, assistant coach Paul Westhead took over the team's head coaching duties and hired Riley as an assistant coach.
Where is Dan Hurley going? ›
STORRS – The University of Connecticut has agreed to a new contract with head men's basketball coach Dan Hurley that runs through the 2029-30 season. The six-year agreement is valued at $50 million and includes the opportunity to earn additional compensation in the form of performance-based incentives.
