Dan Hurley turns down Lakers’ $70 million offer to stay at UConn, per report

Dan Hurley knew money couldn’t buy happiness with the Lakers

Dan Hurley is staying at UConn. The 51-year-old has turned down a head coaching offer from the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Lakers offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million deal, according to Woj.

Hurley led UConn to back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. He’s seeking to become the first men’s college basketball coach to three-peat since John Wooden at UCLA. Hurley has indicated that he’s eventually interested in jumping to the NBA, but apparently the chance to coach LeBron James on a $70 million deal wasn’t enough to land him.

We wrote that Hurley should reject the Lakers after their interest was initially reported. The Lakers face an uphill climb to being competitive in the Western Conference, and their window is small with James turning 40 years old this season.

J.J. Redick was previously reported to be the front-runner for the Lakers job, according to NBA insider Shams Charania. Redick is currently calling the 2024 NBA Finals for ABC/ESPN.

We’ll update this story as it develops.