In a move that took the NBA world by surprise, the Lakers are moving in on UConn coach Dan Hurley as the franchises’ next head coach.
Hurley is set to meet with the Lakers brass on Friday in California, who want to lock him down on a long-term deal – multiples sources are reporting.
Of course, LA need to be thinking about how this will affect the most important person on the roster – LeBron James.
But, LeBron is reportedly wanting the new coaching decision to be less about him, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports.
“When this process started for the Lakers when they dismissed Darvin Ham, they obviously spoke to LeBron about the coaching situation,” said Brian Windhorst on First Take. “From what I understand, what LeBron said to them was, ‘You have to hire somebody who is for beyond just me. I might be here for another year. I might be here for two years. You’ve got to make a decision that’s built around Anthony Davis. That’s built around what the Lakers need for the next decade, not just what I need.’
“Certainly, his feelings on the head coach are going to be taken into account, but that’s the message LeBron gave them. This type of hire, this type of going for this type of candidate, aligns with that.
“Secondly, LeBron has praised Dan Hurley and his acumen very recently in public especially after this podcast he did with J.J. Redick,” Windhorst continued. “It is incredibly ironic that he just did a podcast right after [Hurley] won the second national title in a row with J.J. talking about X’s and O’s, talking about where he gets some of his creativity, talking about how he’s morphed as a coach. And I do think that is going to be received positively by LeBron.”
One thing is for sure, whoever the Lakers do decide to hire, they’ll have a very tall task ahead of them.
READ MORE: UConn Coach Dan Hurley’s Feelings on Taking Lakers Top Job