Some nuggets from John Fanta:

Deal 75% done.
Answer in 48 hours.
Luke Murray will come as assistant.
Dan will easily adjust to NBA
Control of roster w/b issue.

John also said nobody knows why Dan’s name popped up so late but some thought Lakers may have had second thoughts about JJ being ‘too smart’ and ‘too young’ to be the new coach and then reached out to Hurley through Woj to see if he might be interested. It’s an explanation that makes some sense.

Fanta also made clear that Hurley wants this and he thinks it’s a done deal unless there’s a last minute disaster. Lakers are determined that Dan is not going to leave LA without signing. If he gets on the plane back to CT w/o signing, deals off and Lakers go with Redick. Good stuff and very encouraging news.

He won’t feel that great with the Lakers horrible cap situation and overall lack of talent with little recourse.

Never even heard of this dude before yesterday. However, a Grape Fanta sounds pretty good right now.

From above article:

…

Former NBA sharpshooter and current ESPN broadcaster J.J. Redick reportedly can’t be counted out in the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching search.

Despite ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that the Lakers are targeting University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley for the position – which sent the NBA world into a frenzy on Thursday – Redick is still a viable candidate, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.

“Now, Hurley, who led Connecticut to back-to-back national championships, has emerged as a legitimate candidate, if not the favorite,” Buha wrote.

“Team and league sources cautioned that the coaching search remains far from settled. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and governor Jeanie Buss will interview Hurley in a more formal manner on Friday, league sources confirmed. There is still a chance the 51-year-old will work out a new contract with Connecticut and remain college basketball’s top coach. Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million deal with Connecticut after the 2023 championship season. His buyout to join the NBA would be roughly $1.9 million.

“Redick, considered the front-runner for weeks, remains a viable candidate, according to league sources.”

Redick and Hurley both haven’t held head coaching jobs in the NBA, but it appears that the Lakers aren’t worried about that in their coaching search.

While there is no guarantee that Hurley will leave Connecticut, where he’s led one of college basketball’s premier programs to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, it certainly looks like a possibility.

According to college basketball reporter and broadcaster John Fanta, UConn is “highly concerned” that Hurley could leave for the NBA.

The Lakers are one of the most esteemed franchises in all of sports, so it makes sense that Hurley is at least listening to the franchise’s pitch when it comes to the head coaching gig.

Hurley would have a chance to coach LeBron James (as long as he doesn’t opt out of his contract and leave the Lakers this offseason) and Anthony Davis with an immediate chance to win an NBA title.

The Lakers made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons under former head coach Darvin Ham, but they came up short of last season’s success (making the Western Conference Finals) in the 2023-24 season, losing in the first round to the Denver Nuggets.

Hurley has coached at Wagner College, the University of Rhode Island and UConn at the collegiate level. He made the NCAA Tournament twice at Rhode Island before taking the UConn job ahead of the 2018-19 season.

Redick, who had a lengthy NBA career, has been heavily linked to the Lakers and currently hosts a podcast with James. If Hurley declines the Lakers’ offer, it seems it is still possible Redick could land the role.

Important to remember that the Lakers have already met with JJ and that’s why he emerged as the favorite. Hurley needs to ace this meeting with Jeanie and Rob because he knows they also liked JJ.

There’s a point where the Lakers may not want to give up the kind of control that Hurley thinks he deserves. Then there’s the money and years thing. Kerr makes $17.5M, Spoelstra makes $15M. Redick will cost a lot less.

I don’t look at this as we a 50% chance of landing Hurley. I view it as we have a 100% chance of landing Hurley or Redick. I would be happy with either. Personally, I think it would help the Lakers for Jeanie and Rob to give up some control to Hurley,

I just like JJ and wonder whether being younger and a former player c/b better in the end. JJ’s not the proven coach Dan is but that might be better in this situation. I think Dan may have lower floor but JJ a higher ceiling. Let’s see what Jeanie and Rob think tomorrow.

…and UCONN ain’t just gonna go quietly into that good night and watch their coach walk away. They’ll up their offer and make him the highest paid coach in college Bball..around $10mill a year. That’s probably as high as the Lakers are willing to go as well. Are we willing to do that for 8-10 years?

5-years $100M would make him the highest paid coach in the NBA.

I think it’s a done deal. Otherwise Dan would not have told his players, UConn would not be talking to potential replacements, and Dan and his agent and wife would not be flying to LA to talk to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and GM Rob Pelinka tomorrow.

I give Jeanie and Rob a lot of credit. They ran two campaigns for two excellent out-of-the-box candidates. Dan’s was private while JJ’s was public. Both represented head coaching candidates with strong modern offensive beliefs. Both were out of the Lakers’ normal network, which was refreshing and encouraging.

The Lakers want to hire a legacy coach and, in my opinion, they found the two best possible candidates in JJ Redick and Dan Hurley Figure out what you want, find candidates who could be what you want even if untraditional. Sounds simple but it’s not in reality. Kudos to Jeanie and Rob IMO.

Hi Jaime, thanks for giving an honest opinion on this. It was just yesterday that the Athletic sounded like JJ got the job, then all of a sudden something like this comes out today. My only concern about Hurley is his style of screaming at players. Not sure how the players will respond to that. Thank you Jaime.

I wish this story wasn’t even out there. Cuz I’m gonna be double pissed off if JayJay ends up with the job now. Hurley is so much more the better candidate, it ain’t even close. We’ve gotta seal the deal and not even let him out the door once he gets in that meeting.

Unless something happens where his wife hates LA, this is looking more and more like it’s really going to happen.

Kudos to Jeanie and Rob for finally going outside the network and finding two elite candidates in an otherwise blah coaching candidate pool.

Landing Hurley could be greater achievement than landing Bob Myers.

I think it will be easier for Dan to adjust to the pros than for JJ to figure out the coaching gig although both will eventually be great coaches.

JJ Redick and Dan Hurley both have legitimate potential to become legacy Lakers coaches. Lakers can’t go wrong.

Andrea Hurley, Dan Hurley’s wife, reportedly flew out to Los Angeles to meet with the Lakers front office today.

Jeanie Buss and GM Rob Pelinka consider Hurley the top candidate for the Lakers coaching job.

Hurley was also endorsed by Magic Johnson earlier today. pic.twitter.com/6dgK4Tfxx2

— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) June 6, 2024

Dan Patrick talked about Hurleys wife today because when he interviewed Hurley a lil while ago, Hurley said that his wife doesn't want to move out of the tri-state area cuz that's been their home. Have to wait and see what both he and his wife decide to do

— be_rad93 (@be_rad93) June 6, 2024

Wow, what a surprise turn of events. For a minute it looked like JJ got the job then out of the blue comes Dan Hurley. I don’t follow college basketball a lot, but him winning back to back championships makes him look like a Phil Jackson clone. Most of the college coaches who transitioned to the NBA haven’t been able to duplicate their success from college, with the exception of Brad Steven, and maybe Rick Pitino.
Also, from what I noticed about Dan Hurley is that he has a penchant for yelling at his players. Not sure if that will bode well with LeBron, AD, and the rest of the gang. I can only hope he connects well with the the team if he becomes the coach.

From the above article:

…

What would Hurley bring to the Lakers? How would his coaching style translate to the NBA?

Over the past few years, Hurley has established himself as one of the elite player-development coaches and tactical minds in college basketball. After his first national championship with UConn, he had two players selected in the 2023 NBA draft — including lottery pick Jordan Hawkins, who saw dramatic improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 under Hurley. This year, he had five players invited to the NBA draft combine and could have the first two college players picked in Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle — neither of whom were in this position when they arrived in Storrs.

From a tactical perspective, he’s developed arguably the best offense in college basketball, predicated on off-ball movement and 3-point shooting. It’s a stark change from his offenses at Rhode Island and his early days at UConn, and represents an ability to adapt his X’s and O’s to the modern game. The offensive principles he’s utilized also translate well to the NBA.

The biggest question about Hurley’s coaching style comes from an emotional standpoint. He’s notorious for his sideline histrionics toward referees — and opposing crowds, at times — and his practices are incredibly loud, intense and filled with their fair share of choice words. Hurley’s intensity has translated to plenty of success at the high school and college levels and would be difficult to completely change at 51 years old, but he might have to dial it back for the NBA.

— Jeff Borzello

Based on everybody I’ve talked with, I believe we get a Hurley decision sometime in the next 72 hours. Could things change? Maybe. But I don’t think he’s telling his players he’s talking to LA then dragging it out. Would think there’s an answer by the end of the weekend.

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) June 6, 2024

Luke Murray, Bill Murray’s son, has been one of Dan Hurley’s top assistant coaches for years. He has been credited with helping design UConn’s offense. pic.twitter.com/a1Jfd4PB1p

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 6, 2024

Woj says Lakers players are "pretty enthusiastic" on the idea of Dan Hurley being their head coachpic.twitter.com/5GFAvL2BXO

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) June 6, 2024