The Los Angeles Lakers’ hunt for their next head coach seems to have reached the end. In the last few weeks, JJ Redick was the frontrunner for the job in the majority’s opinion. However, there has been a recent surge in pushing Dan Hurley’s name for the job and he is believed to be the final choice of the franchise. Amidst the new buzz, an old tweet from LeBron James has resurfaced where the 39-year-old gave a shoutout to the UConn legend.
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Hurley joined UConn in 2018, and after setting up his program in the next few years, he started to show results. The 51-year-old took his team to back-to-back NCAA Division I Tournament wins in 2023 and 2024.
So, it’s understandable why all eyes have been on him lately. In April, King James expressed his appreciation for the coach and his staff on X. LeBron wrote,
“He’s so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with their O! Love it.”
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Now Hurley’s name is being pushed for the Lakers HC position. Considering the respect LeBron has for Hurley, even if his friend Redick doesn’t get the job, he will be happy with the new recruit.
A recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski for Sports Center suggests that it’s highly likely now that Hurley will be the one to take charge in LA. He said, “The Los Angeles Lakers are preparing a massive, long-term offer for the Connecticut Huskies coach Dan Hurley to become the next Lakers coach.”
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Woj stated that his name didn’t just appear out of thin air as he has been in consideration for the job for a while. Maybe, the Redick-LeBron narrative took the limelight away from him. On top of that, Wojnarowski said that Hurley has been looking forward to an offer from the NBA as it’s his dream job.
Now with the Lakers showing immense interest in him, the 51-year-old might just get to live his dream. The analyst said, “Dan Hurley has shown willingness to listen to the Lakers, Rob Pelinka, their GM and Jeanie Buss, their owner to hear them out and what a Hurley-Lakers partnership would look like.”
If the negotiations go through and Hurley takes up the HC position in LA, that will be a major boost for both parties. The UConn coach has been on a winning streak that will mentally benefit the Lakers and for him to get his major break in LA will be a great launching pad for the NBA coaching career.
