NBA Insider Reveals Why Dan Hurley Declined Lakers Job Despite 2X Salary Than UConn

The Los Angeles Lakers were ready to go all in to lure Dan Hurley to take their head coaching job. Impressed with Hurley’s back-to-back NCAA title wins and his basketball knowledge, Rob Pelinka even offered him a massive six-year $70 million contract. And that number is more than double the amount Hurley is set to make at UCONN. Despite the potential pay rise, Hurley was skeptical about leapfrogging from college to the NBA and denied the Lakers’ offer. After Dan’s shocking decision, Woj revealed what led to him breaking the hearts of Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss.

As per Adrian Wojnarowski, Hurley was intrigued by the long-term and short-term plans of Rob Pelinka regarding the Lakers’ future. Starting with the short-term plan of pursuing a title with the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Pelinka also had a long-term plan to let Hurley build the team around AD once LeBron departs. “He liked what it looked like with the Lakers,” Woj said.

However, after talking to several coaches who had taken a leap from college to the NBA in the past, Hurley probably realized the magnitude of coaching a storied franchise like the Lakers and a superstar like LeBron. Moreover, with a chance to create history at UCONN by leading them to their third straight national title, something that hasn’t been done since 1973, Hurley likely didn’t want to let go of that opportunity. While Hurley would only make $32.1 million in six years staying in college, the timing to become a pro-level coach didn’t seem right to him. But Woj also left the door open for Dan to take that leap in the future, “He thinks he’ll be in the NBA someday but he wasn’t ready to go now.”

Will Dan Hurley go on to regret his decision?

If Dan Hurley had decided to take the Lakers’ offer, he would have been the sixth highest-paid head coach in the league, listed among legends like Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra. Yes, it would have been a huge risk on both Hurley and the Lakers’ part, going with a college coach. But the Lakers seemed confident enough in his ability to connect with the players and build a culture that doesn’t produce a one-season wonder but a long-term winning program.

And it’s not like no other coach had done it before. Coaches like Brad Stevens, Quin Snyder, and Billy Donovan, all took that risk at one time or another and it paid out brilliantly for them and the team they joined. Considering that this might have been a once-in-a-lifetime offer for Hurley, becoming a coach of one of the greatest franchises and one of the greatest players, Woj couldn’t help but wonder if he would regret his decision in the future. “I don’t know that there won’t be some regret down the line that he didn’t make the leap now,” Woj said.

While Hurley’s resume will help him get another job in the NBA if he wants to, an offer as big and glamorous as this one might not come too easy. Do you think Dan Hurley should have accepted Rob Pelinka’s offer?

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