During a radio interview on Thursday, Dan Hurley revealed that he turned down a lucrative offer from the Los Angeles Lakers to continue coaching at UConn. Despite being presented with an attractive opportunity to coach one of the greatest NBA players of all time, Hurley opted to stay with the Huskies and pursue a potential third consecutive NCAA championship.
Hurley emphasized that his decision was not about leverage, as he had already agreed to a new contract with UConn prior to the Lakers’ offer. While salary negotiations were settled, there were other factors such as NIL opportunities and staff salaries that needed to be addressed. Hurley dismissed any speculation that he was trying to leverage the Lakers’ offer in order to get a better deal at UConn.
Later in the day, Hurley planned to discuss his decision further with the media and it was revealed that Kentucky had also pursued him for their coaching vacancy following John Calipari’s departure to Arkansas. Although it would have been an exciting opportunity to coach LeBron James with the Lakers, Hurley expressed that he was committed to UConn and had already finalized a deal that would make him the highest-paid college coach in the nation.