Adrian Wojnarowski breaks down the Los Angeles Lakers' interest in Dan Hurley as their new head coach. (2:14)
After historically dominant back-to-back national title seasons, UConn's Dan Hurley has emerged as the most coveted coach in basketball. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Hurley, 51, has often described his ambition to one day coach in the NBA and has expressed to the Lakers a desire to explore the full picture of a partnership with one of basketball's winningest franchises, sources said.
Hurley told UConn players at practice Thursday that the Lakers had contacted him, and he was listening to what they had to say, sources said.
The pursuit of Hurley comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers trying to hire then-Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski to a record-breaking contract in 2004. Krzyzewski elected to remain with the Blue Devils, but the climate has dramatically changed in college athletics. The demands of NIL fundraising for non-power-football schools such as UConn are an especially relentless grind -- and are expected to become even more difficult.
As for the Lakers' stars, LeBron James has been impressed with Hurley's sophisticated offensive actions. Assuming James returns to L.A. in free agency, the possibility of using the 55th pick in this month's NBA draft on USC freshman guard Bronny James makes Hurley an even more intriguing candidate. If that happens, James gets a chance to play with his son and the benefit of Hurley and his staff becoming responsible for Bronny's pro development.
In a social media post responding to a podcast interview with JJ Redick, James posted on X Hurley: "He's so DAMN GOOD!!! Along with his staff. Super creative with their [offense]. Love it."
The Lakers have been committed to making All-NBA forward Anthony Davis a significant part of the conversation on the next head coach and want to make sure he's aligned with how a new coach plans to feature him on offense and defense, sources said.
The Lakers have had several interviews with other candidates, including New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Redick, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell and Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, sources said. The Lakers have proceeded with conversations with other candidates over the past few weeks, but the potential of landing Hurley has been the focus of the Lakers' search, sources said.
