Report: Lakers target UConn's Dan Hurley as head coach

Dan Hurley could move to the NBA.

According to ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers are eyeing Hurley as their next coach. UConn has won back-to-back NCAA tournaments under Hurley in the past two seasons. The Lakers are looking for a coach to replace Darvin Ham after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets this spring.

Former Duke and NBA player JJ Redick has been the favorite for the Lakers job in recent days, but the Lakers are reportedly preparing to offer Hurley a “huge” contract if he comes to the NBA.

Hurley, 51, would take over a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis looking to make another trip to the Finals. After winning the 2020 NBA Finals, the Lakers have lost twice in the first round of the playoffs and missed the 2022 postseason. In Ham's first season in 2022-23, the Lakers finished 7th and made it to the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the Nuggets.

James, who turns 40 in December, has a player option for the 2024-25 season in his contract that must be exercised by June 29. Assuming the option is exercised (and there is no indication it won't), James and Davis will make a combined $90 million next season.

Even beyond James and Davis, there is limited financial and team flexibility for the Lakers. The team has its 2024 first-round pick at No. 17 after the Pelicans opted to gamble on the Lakers' roster earlier this summer and take the team's 2025 first-round pick as part of the deal for Davis. With that pick, the team's 2029 first-round pick and other players on the roster, Los Angeles could be in the market to take a No. 3 player alongside its star duo.

However, trading for another top player could significantly impact team depth and force the Lakers to fill a large portion of the roster with players making the minimum salary. Just ask the Phoenix Suns how that went this season. The Suns were knocked out in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves when Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal were all on the same team.

Hurley has a record of 292-163 as a college coach

Hurley has won nearly 300 games in 14 seasons as a head coach at the highest level of college basketball. After two seasons at Wagner, Hurley took over at Rhode Island. In his third season, he turned the Rams into a 23-win team after Rhode Island went 8-21 in his first year.

After leading the Rams to back-to-back NCAA tournaments in 2017 and 2018, Hurley was hired at UConn. The Huskies were a disaster when he was brought in. UConn had finished under .500 each of the previous two seasons and had only made one NCAA tournament appearance since winning the 2014 national title.

UConn had a 16-17 record in Hurley's first season before winning 19 games as a sophomore before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the college basketball season early. Since then, UConn has reached the NCAA Tournament four straight times and become the leading program in men's college basketball.

The Huskies have destroyed their opponents in the last two NCAA tournaments. In 2023, UConn beat every team it faced in the tournament by at least 13 points to win the national title against San Diego State.

UConn was even better in the 2023-24 season. The Huskies lost just three games all season and beat their opponents in the NCAA Tournament by even more margin. UConn won each of its six tournament games by at least 14 points. The Huskies beat Alabama 86-72 in the Final Four before defeating Purdue 75-60 in the national title game.