One of the fascinating developments in the sports world over the past 12 months has been changing of the guard for some of sports’ most iconic franchises and programs.
Nick Saban’s retirement at Alabama football coming off a College Football Playoff appearance was a shock, while Pete Carroll’s dismissal with the Seattle Seahawks and Bill Belichick’s departure from the New England Patriots — a team he coached to six Super Bowl championships — ended on frostier terms than might be expected of title-winning coaches. Jim Harbaugh left reigning champion Michigan to bolt to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Extend the parameters a bit, and retirements like Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and Mike Kryzewski at Duke are major shifts at men’s basketball programs with decades of continuity.
The NBA is doing its part to contribute to the trend, with arguably the most visible and prestigious head coach position becoming available — head coach of the 17-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The current state of the organization adds to the appeal, too. 39-year-old forward LeBron James is coming off a All-NBA Third Team selection in the 2023-24 season, and his sidekick, power forward Anthony Davis, is squarely in the prime of his career. The Lakers haven’t made as much noise in the playoffs as they would have liked since their championship in the NBA bubble a couple years ago, but this position is not a rebuilding project.
Those factors packed enough of an appeal to spark interest from the hottest name in college basketball, UConn’s Dan Hurley. Coming off consecutive national championships with the Huskies, Hurley has a championship pedigree and a distinct voice that the Lakers believed could elevate them into the top tier of Western Conference teams. With genuine interest on both sides, the potential Lakers-Hurley marriage arguably surpassed the very lopsided NBA Finals as the biggest story in the sports world early last week.
Ultimately, Hurley chose to stay with UConn and chase a third-straight consecutive championship. On the other end, Hurley’s decision leaves the Lakers without a head coach at the moment and robs them of the splash hire they hoped to land to jettison them back into potential June action in next year’s Finals. Hurley didn’t complete the NBA jump that he clearly expressed interest in making, but he made a decision that makes sense in enhancing his present tenure at UConn and veering away from a potential headache of a situation in Los Angeles.
In terms of presenting a challenge, UConn’s bid for a three-peat should energize Hurley heading into this upcoming season, even if the March Madness fields haven’t presented much opposition themselves. The Huskies are coming off two atypically dominant championship runs and should have enough talent to figure prominently into the title discussion once again, though the departures of two potential NBA Draft lottery picks in big man Donovan Clingan and guard Tristen Newton and an excellent transfer portal find from last year in guard Cam Spencer should keep Hurley plenty busy.
Instead of his exploration of NBA opportunities putting his commitment to his players in question, Hurley used the situation to his advantage to generate even more buy-in. Spurning the Lakers to come back to UConn signals Hurley’s belief in the Huskies’ future, all while sweetening the financial pot for Hurley’s next contract. The Lakers reportedly offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million contract, and while the Huskies’ next contract with Hurley won’t approach those numbers given the nature of the market for college basketball coaches, the leverage is there for the taking (even if Hurley denied his decision was a “leverage play” for his ongoing contract negotiations).
What is the downside to returning to UConn? The worst-case scenario doesn’t seem all that damaging to Hurley’s career or his reputation as a top coach. If the Huskies fail to win their third-straight title, Hurley still has his contract, still has plenty of talent and still has a chance to reload quickly and return to the top. He’ll never have to wonder if he could have made it three in a row — as he would have if he moved coast-to-coast — regardless of the outcome of the season.
The more interesting side of the fallout of Hurley’s decision is the NBA side, and Hurley sure appears to have dodged a bullet.
Hurley has re-energized the UConn program by building the team his way, even in the convoluted reality of college basketball today with the transfer portal and the clear influence of name, image and likeness deals in recruiting. Maybe Hurley’s hands-on approach would connect at the NBA level, too, but the Lakers don’t offer much opportunity to mold a team in his image.
For one, the team is already led by LeBron James, who has been the most influential voice in the room — coaches and general managers included — on every team he has been on since leaving the Miami Heat and their duo of head coach Erik Spoelstra and architect Pat Riley. And in terms of roster construction, the Lakers don’t have much mobility in shaking up the roster this offseason or sacrificing draft capital in future years for pieces that might help next season. James and Davis are both in their 30s and making more than $40 million in annual salary, and Los Angeles doesn’t have a clear third star or assets to make a move for a big name while keeping their depth and supporting cast championship-worthy. Hurley would be inheriting a mess, and while the situation would be a high-profile and talented mess, it would be a mess either way.
Success with the Lakers is both more difficult to achieve (given the restraints) and to define. The Lakers’ previous coach, Darvin Ham, was jettisoned less than 12 months after reaching the Western Conference Finals and losing to a perennial MVP in Nikola Jokic. The coach before Ham, Frank Vogel, won an NBA championship in his first season, then was discarded two seasons later. No Lakers coach has lasted more than three seasons since Phil Jackson from 2005-2011, and he won a total of five titles in Los Angeles.
The commitment the Lakers would have made to Hurley through the terms of his contract might have bought him more than just a couple seasons to right the ship, but this is a true championship-or-bust organization. It’s also one headed in the opposite direction from the NBA Finals and playing in a Western Conference packed with a lot of talent — and a lot of younger talent at that.
If coaching in the NBA is Hurley’s ultimate goal, passing on the Lakers’ opening is still a wise move. With two championships under his belt on the college level, Hurley is going to be a hot name in NBA circles regardless of how the next couple seasons pan out for the Huskies. On the NBA side, plenty of opportunities should open up for Hurley to truly make an imprint on an organization without the pressure and restrictions that are major aspects of the Lakers’ opening.
Hurley has emerged from one of the wildest NBA coaching pursuits in recent history as a clear winner, while the Lakers will have to settle for a less qualified and flashy candidate after setting their sights on the brightest coaching star in the sport. Now, it’s back to chasing a third title in three years for Hurley and the Huskies, and back to the drawing board in Los Angeles.
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