Dan Hurley to Decide Between Lakers HC Contract, UConn on Monday Amid NBA Rumors | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley will decide Monday whether to coach the Huskies or the Los Angeles Lakers next season, he told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.

Wojnarowski said Friday on The Stephen A. Smith Show that the Lakers’ head coaching job is Hurley’s “if he wants it.”

Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million extension with UConn last June before leading the Huskies to their second consecutive NCAA title this season.

If he turns down the NBA job, the Lakers could consider hiring ESPN analyst JJ Redick, who was identified as a finalist for the job by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Wojnarowski reported Thursday that Hurley traveled to California in order to meet with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and owner Jeanie Buss.

The Lakers were “already discussing the contractual parameters of a potential deal” with Hurley prior to the meeting, Wojnarowski reported.

During the meeting, Pelinka and Buss shared what Hurley called a “compelling vision” of combining his coaching style with the Lakers’ brand, Wojnarowski reported.

Hurley told ESPN that the Lakers had made a “compelling case” for him to take the job and that he was “extremely impressed” with Pelinka and Buss, per Wojnarowski.

The UConn coach first met with his players about his upcoming decision on Thursday following Wojnarowksi’s initial report, Joe Arruda reported for the Hartford Courant.

There was no team meeting scheduled for Sunday, Arruda reported.

With the Huskies scheduled to practice Monday afternoon, Arruda predicted that a team meeting sharing further news about Hurley’s decision would likely take place by Monday morning.

Although Charania reported earlier this week that the Lakers were “zeroing in” on Redick as their top choice for the head coaching position, Wojnarowski wrote that Hurley “has been at the forefront of the Lakers’ search from the beginning of the process, even while the organization has done its due diligence interviewing several other candidates.”

The Lakers are seeking a replacement for Darvin Ham, who was dismissed after two seasons following Los Angeles’ first-round elimination by the Denver Nuggets.

His replacement will get the opportunity to coach Anthony Davis, and potentially LeBron James, as the Lakers seek to build for a deeper playoff run in 2025.