Source – Dan Hurley, Lakers to meet Friday about coaching job

UConn coach Dan Hurley is traveling to Southern California on Friday for a meeting with Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and owner Ginni Buss — the organization interested in closing a deal to hire the two-time national championship coach, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The Lakers’ pursuit of Hurley to become the franchise’s next coach has accelerated, and the two sides are already discussing the parameters of a potential contract deal that would be significant in terms of its length and salary, sources said.

Hurley hasn’t made a decision about leaving UConn for the NBA, but the talks have momentum, sources said.

Hurley informed UConn’s administration on Wednesday of his interest in talking to the Lakers — and on Thursday about discussing his players, sources said.

UConn has won back-to-back NCAA titles — including a record 12 consecutive double-digit tournament wins — and returns a top-five team next season.

Hurley has been at the forefront of the Lakers’ search since the beginning of the process, even as the organization has done due diligence to interview other candidates, sources said. Only New Orleans assistant James Borrego has had two in-person interviews in Los Angeles, sources said.

Pelinka and Bass are interested in formally discussing with Hurley their vision of marrying his dominant program — built on his tactical intelligence and elite player development — with the storied Lakers brand, sources said.

Hurley, 51, has often expressed his ambitions to one day coach in the NBA and expressed his desire to explore the full picture of a partnership with one of basketball’s winningest franchises with the Lakers, sources said.

Hurley’s pursuit comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers hiring Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in a record-breaking contract in 2004. Krzyzewski elected to stay at Duke, but the climate in college athletics has changed dramatically, and NIL fundraising demands are an especially relentless grind for non-power-football schools like UConn — and it’s expected to get tougher.

As for Lakers stars, LeBron James has been impressed with Hurley’s sophisticated offensive work, and assuming he returns to LA in free agency, the prospect of using the 55th overall draft pick on USC freshman guard Brony James makes Hurley an even more attractive candidate. . If that happens, James gets to play with his son, and Harley and his staff get to be responsible for Bronny’s pro development.

In a social media post responding to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James post About Hurley on social media platform X: “He’s great!!! Even with his staff. Super creative with their (offense). Love it.”

The Lakers are committed to making All-NBA forward Anthony Davis an important part of the next head coach’s conversation and want to make sure he’s aligned with how they plan to feature him on offense and defense, sources said.

The Lakers have had conversations with other candidates over the past few weeks, but the possibility of landing Hurley was the focus of their search, sources said.

Hurley is part of the changing landscape of NBA roster building under the collective bargaining agreement. Due to the roster-building limitations of the new second apron, the ability of big-market teams to build contending rosters by trading multiple draft picks and trading young players for third-star players is largely eliminated. Beyond the 21st overall pick in June’s draft, the Lakers have a young core of Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Max Christie that management believes can show more improvement under Hurley’s coaching, sources said.

After historically dominant back-to-back national title seasons, Hurley has emerged as the most coveted coach in sports — and his prospect of leaving UConn and the Big East Conference for the Lakers has huge implications for college basketball and the NBA. Hurley produced a juggernaut that lapped the sport — the NCAA’s first repeat champion in 17 years and a performance that produced the largest point differential in tournament history — 140 points.

UConn has a strong chance of winning a third straight title with a return to a top-five team in the preseason, but the Huskies have two lottery picks (center Donovan Klingan and guard Stephon Cassel) and a first-team All-American point guard (Tristan Newton) in the NBA draft. .

The Lakers fired coach Derwin Hamm after a first-round exit in the Western Conference playoffs. Hamer was 94-70 in two seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2023.

Hurley is 141-58 (.709) in six seasons as the UConn coach. The son of Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr. — for whom Hurley played at famed St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey — Dan Hurley spent nine years as the high school coach at St. Benedict’s Prep before quickly rebuilding college programs at Wagner and Rhode Island. His older brother, Bobby, is the head coach at Arizona State.