ESPN Veteran Rubbishes Dan Hurley’s NBA Struggles After Ex-GM Warns Lakers of LeBron’s Disrupting Power

Ever since the Lakers fired Darvin Ham and made their head coaching position vacant, several names have been thrown in the mix to take over that role. While there were murmurs about Rob Pelinka narrowing his search down to JJ Redick and Pelicans’ James Borrego, the latest report by Woj revealed that the Lakers might be going a whole new route. Targeting UCONN head coach Dan Hurley, the Lakers are reportedly preparing to offer him a massive long-term contract and hand him the job. But former Warriors GM Bob Myers has his doubts about Hurley’s transition to the NBA alongside a star like LeBron James.

Addressing Hurley’s potential Lakers hiring on ESPN’s NBA Countdown, Myers dove into how difficult it could be for the UCONN coach to manage the talent in LA, “College and the NBA is very different.” While at the collegiate level, coaches have more control over building their roster and letting them develop, that’s usually not the case at the pro level. And it’s certainly far from LeBron James’ taste, as he has been the master of his own destiny for his entire career.

During LeBron’s tenure, the Lakers have already fired three head coaches, that too when one led them to a title and the other took them to the Conference Finals. And that hints at the amount of control LeBron has over the team’s decisions. Addressing that level of power, Myers said, “That’s a big shift for college coaches… You can’t treat them (NBA players) the same way you would a college player. And they happen to have a player on their team that may be the most powerful athlete in any sport.” Moreover, until now, Pelinka has always set up a roster that fits the needs of LeBron. But with Hurley’s arrival, the college coach would also want a say in those crucial decisions, which could cause a rift in the team.

Bob Myers’ points get nullified by Adrian Wojnarowski

While Myers was a bit skeptical about Dan Hurley becoming the head coach of the Lakers, the person who broke the news, Adrian Wojnarowski, seemed far more confident in the legendary coach’s abilities. Addressing the concerns, Woj said, “Dan Hurley has given a lot of thought to the NBA for a long time… He does understand to make this transition, he is going to have to adapt.” Yes, it’s going to be a tough challenge for Hurley to go from coaching and developing young athletes to superstars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But the coach is experienced and mature enough to understand how to work with players of that caliber.

Talking to other coaches who have made the transition from college to the NBA in the past, Woj was told that there is one thing that a coach needs to be successful in the league. “Often over an 82-game season, you better support him (player). You can’t come down on him every time.” Unlike college, coaches need to be much calmer with NBA players and Hurley understands that. More importantly, Woj claimed that if Hurley joins the Lakers, he will come with the purpose of building a program rather than going through teams, like they have been doing for the last few years.

So, it looks like Hurley has it well thought out and we will get to know about his final decision in the upcoming days. Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.