Los Angeles Lakers normal supervisor Rob Pelinka earlier than an NBA basketball sport between the Golden State Warriors and the Lakers in San Francisco, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Picture/Jeff Chiu)
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers should proceed their newest teaching search with the basketball world already understanding their first alternative turned them down.
The Lakers have endured their share of embarrassments lately, however a snub by a university coach — even the very best within the sport — is among the many roughest setbacks but.
Dan Hurley met with the Lakers final week after which rejected their very public courtship Monday. The coach most likely emerged from his dalliance with the leverage to complete a profitable new contract at UConn.
READ: NBA: Dan Hurley turns down Lakers supply, will keep at UConn
However what’s subsequent for the Lakers, a franchise with 17 NBA championships, a world-renowned model, two of the game’s prime gamers and no head coach?
They have to resume a search that has stretched properly into its second month since Darvin Ham’s firing Could 3 and has but to provide a slam-dunk alternative. Almost each leaked dialogue of the Lakers’ search included three prime candidates — every of whom would have arrived on the West Coast with query marks.
Though Hurley is among the most revered names within the sport after the Huskies’ success over the previous two years, he’s by no means labored within the NBA. Former participant J.J. Redick has by no means coached in any respect, and James Borrego has been an NBA head coach for 4 1/2 seasons with out ever making the playoffs.
Redick and Borrego are nonetheless candidates to run the Lakers, which might appear to be some of the fascinating jobs in sports activities — however the charitable interpretation of this present search is that proprietor Jeanie Buss and normal supervisor Rob Pelinka are struggling to search out the suitable match for his or her imaginative and prescient.
READ: NBA: Lakers conduct public teaching search in hopes of pleasing LeBron
Many followers are questioning whether or not Buss and Pelinka have a imaginative and prescient in any respect, what with the Lakers’ years of roster upheaval and mediocre supporting casts round LeBron James. They’re additionally questioning whether or not every passing week will increase the prospect that the 39-year-old James will flip down his $51.4 million contract choice later this month and turn out to be a free agent.
The Lakers final gained a championship when James and Anthony Davis raised the trophy within the Florida bubble 4 years in the past, they usually’ve tried to maximise their probabilities within the remaining years of James’ profession by altering coaches and/or jettisoning a number of gamers after practically each failed season.
This rent may be their closing probability to get the suitable teaching employees for James — and Hurley’s rejection clearly hurts.
Hiring Redick can be a serious threat, albeit with a major potential upside. It’s unclear whether or not Redick would even need to disrupt his burgeoning profession in media for the stress of a head teaching job.
READ: A take a look at NBA head coaches on LeBron James-led groups
Borrego represents administration expertise and training pedigree, however he has but to differentiate himself in a prime job — and he’s additionally a candidate for Cleveland’s emptiness.
The Lakers are anticipated to speak to different candidates within the days forward, maybe widening their search to incorporate names not even at present within the dialogue. However they most likely can’t even default to arguably essentially the most skilled, most profitable veteran NBA head coach at present on the free-agent market.
That’s as a result of Frank Vogel gained a hoop with the Lakers in October 2020 and acquired fired precisely 18 months later.
Vogel wasn’t even the Lakers’ first alternative in 2019: In response to a number of experiences, the Lakers practically employed Tyronn Lue earlier than the deal fell aside over cash and the entrance workplace’s want to have a say on his employees. Lue ended up with the Clippers, the place he stays. That negotiation has remained a humiliation for the Lakers even after their fallback alternative gained a championship.
After firing Vogel in 2022 when Pelinka’s veteran-laden, injury-plagued roster missed the playoffs with a humiliating 33-49 report, the Lakers went by way of one other six-week search earlier than selecting Ham. The once-and-future Milwaukee Bucks assistant clearly didn’t impress the entrance workplace or his gamers sufficient to maintain his job even after two successful seasons, two playoff berths and a Western Convention finals look.