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Dan Hurley spoke with the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend regarding their open head coaching job after steam picked up late last week that he’d become the franchise’s top target.
In fact, NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski went as far as to say that Hurley had been the team’s most desired candidate throughout the search, and they found this the perfect time to pounce as the head coach had yet to secure a contract extension with UCONN.
At the time, it made sense. The Lakers could certainly offer more money, and after winning back-to-back titles with the Huskies, maybe a new challenge was on the horizon for Hurley.
Hurley has been at the forefront of the Lakers’ coaching search from the beginning of the process, even while the organization has done its due diligence interviewing several other candidates.
Though Woj claimed that Hurley had always been involved in the process, his name didn’t appear until early June after the job had been open more than a month.
That reporting differed vastly from that of Wojnarowski’s NBA newsbreak rival Shams Charania, who’s long said that JJ Redick is the leader in the clubhouse.
On Tuesday, after seeing Dan Hurley turn the Lakers down for a flashy new contract in Storrs, he doubled down on that belief.
“Dan Hurley was not the No. 1 candidate to go and pursue from the start… At the end of the day – he chose to stay for $20M less at UConn.”
“[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
Charania still believes that Redick is, and has long been, the most likely choice He rejects the idea that Hurley has been targeted from the start of the process.
That line of commentary has sparked a conspiracy theory of sorts surrounding both Adrian Wojnarowski and Dan Hurley’s intentions in the leak.
Was it all a publicity stunt to speed up those UCONN contract talks? Some say so!
It’s almost like Dan Hurley leaked all of this through a trusted media source (who literally wrote a book on his dad) to secure himself an even bigger contract at UConn. Woj gets a big scoop, the Lakers get to say we tried, and Hurley gets a huge raise. Win. Win. Win.
If so, things worked out just as those conspiracy theorists predicted!
Diving further into the possible reasoning for the sudden interest, a number of college basketball personalities believed it could immediately improve recruiting efforts.
Fairly simple https://t.co/ITH767u1yU
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) June 10, 2024
Again, that supposed plan has already played out in real time!
Top 10 national recruit Maleek Thomas had the following to say after seeing Hurley spurn the Lakers for a lifetime supply of chicken wings and hot dogs in Storrs.
“I didn’t expect [Dan Hurley to talk with the Lakers]; it just popped up. He ended up turning it down, which must mean something. That definitely makes UConn more attractive now. With all the money he was offered, he’s still committed to the school he built up. Being highly recruited by him means they are serious. That’s the message I got.
Was this all a part of the plan? If so, it’s worked to perfection for Dan Hurley and the Huskies!
As it stands, Hurley will continue coaching in Storrs with that raise on the table. The Lakers will turn to Plan B.