Shams Charania Still Maintains JJ Redick Frontrunner for Lakers Coaching Gig, Reveals Dan Hurley was Never the First Choice

The clock is ticking on the Los Angeles Lakers’ hunt for the next head coach. Over the last few weeks, several names popped up, including JJ Redick and Dan Hurley. However, reportedly, Hurley has declined the offer and decided to stay with his NCAA squad. On a recent episode of Run It Back, Shams Charania stated that the Lakers approaching him for the job wasn’t a full-fledged attempt and that they are still eyeing JJ Redick.

Besides Redick, Charania mentioned that James Borrego has also been in contention but his name has not received the same amount of attention as Redick or Hurley. He said,

“Before this Dan Hurley situation, he [Rob Pelinka] had met twice with two candidates. He met with JJ Redick once, he met with James Borrego a separate time.”

The analyst also unveiled that Borrego even visited the Lakers facility. Despite the sudden change of interest, Charania believed that Hurley never considered taking the job. He added that the only reason the Lakers pursued him for a few days was his lack of contract renegotiation with UConn,

“He [Hurley] was in contract negotiation with UConn, he was discussing a deal to go back, and they felt like there was an opening. They threw…a hail mary offer at him, six years, $70 million.”

“[Dan Hurley] was not the #1 candidate to go and pursue from the start… At the end of the day – he chose to stay for $20M less at UConn”@ShamsCharania on the #Lakers head coaching search 👀 pic.twitter.com/WLYBVVQi6u

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) June 11, 2024

Despite being offered $20 million more than his UConn offer, Hurley declined it for a possible NCAA three-peat with the Huskies. While the 30-year-old still believes that a Lakers HC job is a big deal, ESPN’s Zach Lowe believes that Hurley dodged a bullet by staying at UConn.

Zach Lowe backs Dan Hurley for declining the Lakers’ job

It’s no secret that the Lakers’ reputation has taken a severe hit in the league. Being looked at as just a play-in contender, the franchise has faced several criticisms for not making effective decisions during the off-season. Adding to this, in a recent episode of Get Up, Zach Lowe said,

“The Lakers’ job is not that great of a job. They’re a play-in team pretty much every year, in a conference that is only getting better every year, all around them.”

Besides a tarnished reputation, Lowe predicted that it’s only going to get worse for the Lakers in the near future. He said, “We’re not that far away from the Lakers being a straight-up bad team for five or six years.”

While they still have assets like Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Purple and Gold have to rebuild and put the correct pieces around their stars. So, for Hurley to not show any interest in building a team when he is on the verge of a three-peat seems a smart decision.