Lakers News: Timeline Established for Dan Hurley to Make LA Decision?

It seems like (ahem) the ball could be in his court.

Apr 13, 2024; Hartford, CT, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley and his players leave the State Capitol to start the teams NCAA Mens Basketball Championship victory parade. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

When will we know whether or not Dan Hurley will be the Los Angeles Lakers' next head coach?

Pretty soon, if recent reports are any indication.

The reigning two-time NCAA championship-winning head coach of the Connecticut Huskies met with Los Angeles personnel on Friday about the position. According to Field of 68's Jeff Goodman, he could make a determination as soon as Monday.

The 2024 Naismith, Sporting News and Big East Coach of the Year, 51, has emerged as one of the best coaches in the college hoops game. Now, L.A. is looking to poach him over to the pros.

With center Donovan Clingan leading the charge on the hardwood, Hurley has guided the Huskies to a combined 68-11 record and two straight NCAA Division I championships over the past two collegiate seasons. All told, he boasts a 141-58 record and four NCAA Tournament berths across his six seasons with UConn (including a 71-41 inter-conference record in the AAC and Big East). Including his tenures as the head coach for the Wagner Seahawks and Rhode Island Rams, Hurley has a cumulative 292-163 record as a college head coach. Not too shabby.

Pivoting to Hurley as the frontrunner for their head coaching vacancy is a fascinating move for the Purple and Gold. The Lakers had been connected to ESPN media personality JJ Redick, who would likely have been a pricey first-time head coach hire, but beyond him, the team had been linked to several well-regarded assistant coaches, including James Borrego of the New Orleans Pelicans. Going the assistant coach route, much as the Lakers had done in hiring prior head coach Darvin Ham, would probably represent the club's most cost-effective tact. But Hurley will cost them a pretty penny, as essentially the NBA equivalent of the Los Angeles Chargers' splashy Jim Harbaugh hire earlier this year.

It sounds like it will be up to Hurley to determine if taking the NBA leap with the league's glamor franchise is worth the risk. L.A. has cycled through six full-time head coaches (plus interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, but he was just a fill-in guy for five games midseason in 2012) since Phil Jackson left in 2011, and none have lasted more than three seasons.

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