Dan Hurley will remain UConn’s head coach after rejecting an offer for the same role with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said in a statement. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout, and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”
The Lakers offered Hurley a six-year contract worth $70 million, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal would have made him one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches, Wojnarowski adds.
Rather than jump to the NBA and potentially coach future Hall of Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Hurley will aim to lead UConn to men’s college basketball’s first three-peat since John Wooden’s UCLA won seven straight from 1967-73.
Hurley is expected to enter talks with UConn on a new deal to become one of the highest-paid coaches in the college game, according to Wojnarowski.
The Lakers will continue the interview process for their next head coach, with New Orleans Pelicans associate James Borrego and NBA player-turned-media personality JJ Redick being two prime candidates, Wojnarowski reports.
L.A. fired Darvin Ham on May 3 and is currently one of just two teams searching for a new bench boss, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
