Dan Hurley: Rumors Lakers Were Used as UConn Contract Leverage Are ‘Worst Takes’ | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

University of Connecticut head men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley shot down the notion that he used his negotiations with the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers to get a better contract to stay at UConn.

During an appearance Thursday on the Dan LeBatard Show (h/t Joe Arruda of the Hartford Courant), Hurley made it clear that his talks with the Lakers had nothing to do with trying to gain additional leverage at UConn: “One of the worst takes I’ve heard is [that] this was a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn. Like, I don’t need leverage here. We’ve won back-to-back national championships at this place.”

Hurley announced Monday that he is staying in the college ranks at UConn, turning down a six-year, $70 million offer from the Lakers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The expectation was that Hurley would sign a new contract at UConn to become one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball, and while it isn’t known to be official yet, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said this week that the deal is “very close to the finish line,” according to Mike Anthony of CT Insider.

Following stints as the head coach at Wagner and Rhode Island, UConn hired Hurley in 2018, and it didn’t take him long to turn the program back into a championship contender.

The Huskies have made four consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, and in each of the past two seasons, they won over 30 games, as well as the national title.

UConn became the first school to win back-to-back national championships in Division I men’s college basketball since Florida achieved the feat in 2006 and 2007.

If UConn can win a third national title in a row, it will be the first team to do so since UCLA won seven straight from 1967 to 1973.

That won’t be easy to accomplish given that the Huskies are losing several key players to the NBA like Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer.

Had Hurley gone to the NBA to coach the Lakers, he would have instantly found himself leading a championship contender headlined by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

L.A. fell to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs this season, but they reached the Western Conference Finals the previous year, and they are always a threat to go the distance with LeBron and AD in the fold.

Per Wojnarowski, Hurley said he was “extremely impressed” with the Lakers and felt they made a “compelling case,” but it wasn’t enough to pry him away.

With Hurley returning to UConn, the Lakers’ head coaching search continues with former NBA guard JJ Redick appearing to be the front-runner despite his lack of previous coaching experience.