Dan Hurley Breaks Silence on LeBron James’ Role in Rejecting $70 Million Lakers Offer He ‘Seriously Considered’

Does money not attract Dan Hurley? Hurley and his fiasco of turning down the Lakers’ HC job offer is sure to raise the question. The lucrative offer from the Los Angeles Lakers would have given him $70 million. But he chose UConn’s $50 million contract and his mental peace over the most controversial job on the West Coast. Had he taken up the offer, he would have been among the highest-paid coaches in the NBA. But there were so many things other than this he had to consider.

In his interview with the LeBatardShow, he revealed that there was a lot on his mind at the time, so much so that it must have been borderline chaotic for him. Despite that, “it was something I really put serious consideration into,” Hurley said. So, he did put himself in the Lakers’ HC shoes, at least in his imagination, before turning the job down.

Hurley further added, “After thinking about it, earlier in the week, it was something I wanted to explore—the opportunity to potentially coach the Lakers, the greatest players of all time, one of the best players in the NBA, and AD. To lead such a storied franchise… it was something in my mind that I had to explore and consider and see what it looked like.” To top it off, had he taken it up, the King’s support would have been there for him.

An X post by the herd, Dan Hurley, revealed LeBron James‘ part in the hiring process. Hurley admitted that both of them hadn’t talked much during the process, barring a few instances over text. So, what were their texts about? Well, as per Hurley, they only talked about basketball and “several other things”. Then, there’s something even more important to consider. He said that LeBron made it clear that “If he was there in LA, I’d have his support.”

Hurley is confident that James’ holds his team’s best interests close to heart. He said, “I know that he wants a great coach in that organization.“ Besides that, he had some fond memories of encountering LeBron that might not be known to many.

In the LeBatardShow, Hurley recalled the experience: “One of my first games I ever coached in high school was against LeBron in Delaware when he was at St. Mary Vincent. His team came into that game with a 66-game winning streak, and it was my first year as a head coach. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I shared the court with him once, and it would have been a thrill to coach him,” said Hurley. So why did the coach pass up the offer to coach LeBron?

For Hurley, reasons can be aplenty:

• LeBron James is pretty passionate about his games. He desperately wants another victory before he hangs his shoes up. But then, he’s not just a King in his name, but also is King in his behavior with his coaches. We have seen how he behaved with Darvin Ham, and the whole “give me the board” incident from last year. Could it be that? What if James behaves in the same manner as someone else? It is a big enough reason to turn down a coveted job offer.
• it might not be a stable job, considering all the coach changes Lakers have seen for many years now.
• Hurley lives on the East Coast. Uprooting his life and that of his family is a pretty big deal no matter what the offers are. Even Hurley explained it in his interview, “I had to keep in mind my wife, my two sons, and also the players’ families” while making the decision.
• The timing was just not right. Before the Lakers’ offer materialized, Hurley had already begun a new season with UConn and had received another offer from the university, which he had already accepted.

Notably, Hurley also came out clear about his stand when he turned down Kentucky’s coaching offer in April.

Why did Hurley reject the Kentucky offer? Matters that come before money

Kentucky was desperately in search of their coach after John Calipari left for Arkansas at the beginning of April. Naturally, Hurley was on the radar of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. Hurley had the credit of bringing the Huskies to back-to-back national titles, the first such feat since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators in 2006 and ‘07. But Hurley had other, bigger preferences in mind.

In an interview on the Jim Rome Show, Hurley explained it inside out. “No. I think being who you say you are at your core. I know how much UConn and the state of Connecticut and the university, how much they value me and my staff and the program staying where they are. I know all those things are in place for us to press for the three-peat and show people who you are,” he said. But what about the money matter?

“Once you make a certain amount of money, it doesn’t make that much of a difference in your life. I couldn’t be happier than I am here and knowing that the people that are with the portal, we’re going to have to be strategic there,” Hurley smashed that factor as well. We can not agree enough, considering where the Lakers contract could have taken Hurley.

As stats say, accepting Lakes’ offer could have placed Hurley among the four highest-paid coaches. Let us take a look:

But that is not all. His considerations toward his family have also played a huge role in his decision. Hurley’s father, the legendary Bob Sr. stays in New Jersey. So UConn is a natural choice for the family, given its location. Apart from that, one of Hurley’s sons, Danny, is employed in New Jersey. The other one, Andrew, was a walk-on for the Huskies and might make a place beside his father. With all these, it seems the choice, although difficult, was quite clear to Dan Hurley.

Before leaving, be sure to check out some insights that Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about WNBA star rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.