Dan Hurley to the Lakers?

[bugatti]

Per Woj, both sides are coming together to talk. This has apparently been the Lakers #1 coaching target through their search.

[16thBBall Fan]

I guess we know now that the Lakers are bigger than Kentucky. lol

Also, so much for him and his wife would never want to leave the east coast.

[bugatti]

6 minutes ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

I guess we know now that the Lakers are bigger than Kentucky. lol

Also, so much for him and his wife would never want to leave the east coast.

This is not finalized, but I never buy the "coach/player X will never leave Y" crap.

For me, if money is no object, I am Team West Coast > Team East Coast every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

[16thBBall Fan]

2 minutes ago, bugatti said:

This is not finalized, but I never buy the "coach/player X will never leave Y" crap.

For me, if money is no object, I am Team West Coast > Team East Coast every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Me as well.

[bugatti]

The timing of this is odd. The Lakers job has been open for over a month and they're just closing in on Hurley? Keep in mind, yesterday Shams reported it was trending toward being JJ Redick. Redick has been the supposed leader in the clubhouse for a few weeks, but he would finish out his playoff stint with ABC/ESPN and reports were behind the scenes he was assembling a staff. Who knows how this stuff unfolds, but it feels like they went to Hurley, he said no. Redick was the pick but could not come to terms. So back to Hurley. All conjecture on my part.

[sportsfan41]

It would be fun to see how it all unfolds for all parties involved if it were to happen. 

 

[Jumper_Dad]

If he goes, every UConn player immediately can go in the portal. If they were to mostly leave, the next coach would struggle to fill an adequate roster at this point.

As far as the Lakers go Woj was on TV earlier saying Lakers are offering a long term deal and see him as a legacy coach like Riley and Jackson were. 

[theguru]

3 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

If he goes, every UConn player immediately can go in the portal. If they were to mostly leave, the next coach would struggle to fill an adequate roster at this point.

As far as the Lakers go Woj was on TV earlier saying Lakers are offering a long term deal and see him as a legacy coach like Riley and Jackson were. 

I think that should be the rule.  I did listen to a report that said they had 30 days with the portal.  But like you said, if several players left, UConn could be a disaster later this year.  Things change fast.

[TCR]

It's an interesting situation. Regarding Coach Hurley, I just can't see him leaving at the end of the day. I think that the opportunity to win a third national title in a row, something that hasn't done since Wooden, is too tempting for him to resist leaving as he has talked about it a lot. Plus, when you consider his personality and LeBron James' personality, it's tough not to see them clashing.

It reminds me of the 2004 situation when the Lakers position became vacant and an aggressive pursuit of Mike Krzyzewski was made. The thought of Coach K going to the Lakers and Phil Jackson (Who was no longer coaching the Lakers) taking the Duke job seemed interesting but Coach K would stay at Duke and Phil Jackson would return to the Lakers one year later. Coach K would win two more titles at Duke ('10, '15) and Phil Jackson would end up winning two more titles ('09, '10) with the Lakers.

 

[bugatti]

10 hours ago, TCR said:

It's an interesting situation. Regarding Coach Hurley, I just can't see him leaving at the end of the day. I think that the opportunity to win a third national title in a row, something that hasn't done since Wooden, is too tempting for him to resist leaving as he has talked about it a lot. Plus, when you consider his personality and LeBron James' personality, it's tough not to see them clashing.

It reminds me of the 2004 situation when the Lakers position became vacant and an aggressive pursuit of Mike Krzyzewski was made. The thought of Coach K going to the Lakers and Phil Jackson (Who was no longer coaching the Lakers) taking the Duke job seemed interesting but Coach K would stay at Duke and Phil Jackson would return to the Lakers one year later. Coach K would win two more titles at Duke ('10, '15) and Phil Jackson would end up winning two more titles ('09, '10) with the Lakers.

 

To your first point, I am not sure what more Hurley has to prove other than boosting his ego. And I don't mean that in a negative sense. He's super elite at his job, and some of this history stuff is great to talk about, but I can't believe it weighs highly on a decision. I think every coach knows going into the LeBron circus that if anything goes wrong, it is on the coach and teammates. The Lakers say this is a long term (post-LeBron) hire. We shall see if it comes to fruition.

To your second paragraph, I hear you, but 2004 vs. 2024 is night and day. The NCAA is in a downward spiral with rosters turning over at a higher clip than NBA rosters. Coaching college basketball is not a prestige job like it once was. Especially when you're at a school without a reputable college football program. When traditional powers are having to hire the likes of Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, that's all you need to know. It's a diminishing product.

[bugatti]

I don't buy for one second Hurley has been the target candidate from the jump. The hire (or rejection) would have occurred a month ago if that were the case.

[TCR]

4 hours ago, bugatti said:

To your first point, I am not sure what more Hurley has to prove other than boosting his ego. And I don't mean that in a negative sense. He's super elite at his job, and some of this history stuff is great to talk about, but I can't believe it weighs highly on a decision. I think every coach knows going into the LeBron circus that if anything goes wrong, it is on the coach and teammates. The Lakers say this is a long term (post-LeBron) hire. We shall see if it comes to fruition.

To your second paragraph, I hear you, but 2004 vs. 2024 is night and day. The NCAA is in a downward spiral with rosters turning over at a higher clip than NBA rosters. Coaching college basketball is not a prestige job like it once was. Especially when you're at a school without a reputable college football program. When traditional powers are having to hire the likes of Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, that's all you need to know. It's a diminishing product.

The 2004 situation with Coach K may have some key differences from today in terms of the culture and the landscape, as you point out, but the core dynamic of a top college coach weighing the allure of the NBA against the opportunity to cement a legacy at their current school still seems highly relevant. I don't think the situation with Coach K will factor into Hurley's decision, that was just more meant to indicate that was what the situation reminded me of.

On the first point I made, Coach Hurley could retire from college basketball right now and be legendary. You mentioned it was wasn't in a negative sense (mentioning ego) and I acknowledge and take that fully into account in my response. Hurley has nothing left to prove at the college level - I agree with that. But the opportunity to cement an even more profound legacy by continuing UConn's dominance and potentially pursuing something as rare as a three-peat which he has discussed (the three-peat) is a powerful draw. You mentioned that every coach knows that if something goes wrong with the LeBron circus, it will be on him and the teammates and that is exactly why I don't think Hurley will jump into that mess when all is said and done with the situation.

 

[theguru]

5 hours ago, bugatti said:

To your second paragraph, I hear you, but 2004 vs. 2024 is night and day. The NCAA is in a downward spiral with rosters turning over at a higher clip than NBA rosters. Coaching college basketball is not a prestige job like it once was. Especially when you're at a school without a reputable college football program. When traditional powers are having to hire the likes of Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey, that's all you need to know. It's a diminishing product.

I listened to the UConn women's coach for a few seconds yesterday and this was my takeaway.  He was saying college hoops is professional basketball now and if you are going to coach a pro team, especially a team like the Lakers, why not go for it.  Those are all my words but again that was my takeaway. 

[Jumper_Dad]

Rumored Lakers to offer $100+ for 8 years, that's a pretty strong offer.

[TheDeuce]

12 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Rumored Lakers to offer $100+ for 8 years, that's a pretty strong offer.

If I were coaching the team LeBron played on, I’d want 75% guaranteed.