Hurley to decide on Lakers' offer Monday

UConn head coach Dan Hurley plans to decide whether he will become the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, ESPN reported on Sunday.

According to the report, Hurley was impressed with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka during their meeting, and spent Sunday mulling a long-term offer to leave UConn for his first NBA coaching job.

Hurley, who guided the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA championships in the past two seasons, traveled to Los Angeles on Thursday, met with the Lakers on Friday and went back to Connecticut on Saturday.

Buss and Pelinka informed Hurley of their plan to combine his successful methods as a tactician and developer of players with the Lakers' brand of basketball.

ESPN reported that Lakers star forward Anthony Davis is a big part of the talks regarding the team's next coach, and how he'll be used on both ends of the court.

Hurley, 51, has posted a 141-58 record while leading UConn to four NCAA Tournament appearances during his six seasons at the helm. He had a 38-23 record during two seasons as the head coach at Wagner (2010-12) and a 113-82 mark in six campaigns with Rhode Island.

Los Angeles fired Darvin Ham on May 3 after two seasons, including an appearance in the Western Conference finals in 2023.

The Lakers went 47-35 this season, good enough for only an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference. They defeated the Pelicans in the play-in round to earn the No 7 seed in the playoffs, but were bounced 4-1 by the Denver Nuggets in the opening round.

Ham posted a 90-74 record, but was 9-12 in the playoffs since replacing Frank Vogel in 2022.