Uncommon Knowledge
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The Los Angeles Lakers were dealt a devastating blow in their search for their next head coach on Monday when University of Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley officially rejected the team’s overtures and decided instead to stay in Storrs.
Read more: Dan Hurley Rejects Lakers Offer to Become One of NBA’s Highest-Paid Head Coaches
Hurley turned down a reported six-year, $70 million offer from Los Angeles, according to ESPN. UConn’s latest contract pitch to Hurley is alleged to be a six-year, $50 million deal, per Jeff Goodman of Field of 68.
Los Angeles is looking to replace former head coach Darvin Ham, whom they fired after just two seasons. Hurley is fresh off winning his second straight NCAA championship with the Huskies, but he’ll be losing three of his star players to the NBA Draft later this month, which could put a damper in his effort to notch a third consecutive college title. Center Donovan Clingan, combo guard Stephon Castle, and first-team All-America point guard Tristen Newton are all heading to the pros this summer, with both Clingan and Castle expected to be lottery selections.
Hurley has led the Huskies to a 68-11 overall record across his past two title-winning seasons with the program. He’s been there for six years altogether, reaching the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four. Hurley boasts a 141-58 overall record with Connecticut during that stretch.
The Lakers let go of Ham, who’s now en route to the Milwaukee Bucks as a lead assistant coach under Doc Rivers. Ham led the Lakers to a 90-74 overall regular season record and two playoff appearances, including a 2023 Western Conference Finals berth.
Where should L.A. turn now, as it looks to get the most out of 39-year-old All-NBA forward LeBron James — the league’s oldest player — and 31-year-old All-NBA center Anthony Davis, in whatever time they have left at this level?
Here are five primo head coaching options.
The New York Liberty’s head coach is one of the best leaders in the WNBA. She coached a star-studded Phoenix Mercury club — led by future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner — to a WNBA championship in 2014, and was named the Coach of the Year for her efforts that season. She’s coming off a dominant run with the Liberty in 2023, whom she led to the Finals and a franchise-best 32-8 record last season. During her 11 completed seasons as a head coach, Brondello has led her squads to the playoffs every single year, including three WNBA Finals berths and four Conference Finals appearances. She boasts a 212-156 overall regular season record and a 31-27 overall playoff record.
Brondello has managed major star personalities during her various head coaching stops, from Taurasi, Griner, and DeWanna Bonner in Phoenix to now Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Courtney Vandersloot in New York.
The former Villanova head coach could represent a pretty comparable pivot from the Dan Hurley option. He’s a decorated NCAA champion, with significant cache in the league thanks to the terrific play of program alums like Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo.
The Hall of Famer is a two-time Naismith College Coach of the Year, coached Villanova to four Final Four appearances and a pair of championships in 2016 and ’18, was named the Associated Press Coach of the Decade for the 2010s, and won a gold medal as an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich on the Team USA men’s basketball squad for the “2020” Tokyo Olympics (in 2021). His Villanova run and his Olympics tenure gives him something of a proven track record for working with NBA talent, although he’s never coached beyond the collegiate level aside from that Olympic experience.
Wright boasts a 642-282 overall head coaching record (.695) during his stints with Hofstra and Villanova. He led his schools to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. The man is a proven winner, just never in the NBA.
Atkinson had an underrated run with the Brooklyn Nets prior to the club’s splashy free agent signings of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, who quickly started pressuring owner Joe Tsai to fire Atkinson to the point where Atkinson opted to step down midseason in 2019-20. Tsai eventually hired Durant’s pick Steve Nash the next fall. Durant then convinced Tsai to fire Nash just two years later, and forced his way out of town just a few months after that. But if Brooklyn had stayed the course with its young pieces under the stewardship of Atkinson, one could argue that it might be better positioned to compete in the East right now.
Atkinson owns an underwhelming 118-190 overall head coaching record, but that’s impeded by the Nets’ asset-poor rosters in 2016-18. He led an intriguing young club to a 42-40 record and the playoffs the next year, and that Durant-Irving iteration was destined for the postseason in 2019-20, although they got there with interim head coach Jacque Vaughn after Atkinson quit.
He has since emerged as a beloved assistant coach under Steve Kerr with the Golden State Warriors, winning a championship in 2022. Atkinson also served as an assistant coach on the New York Knicks under Mike D’Antoni and Mike Brown, and the Atlanta Hawks under Mike Budenholzer,in the years prior to his Brooklyn head coaching opportunity. He served under Tyronn Lue with a Western Conference Finals-bound L.A. Clippers club in 2020-21.
A Miami Heat assistant coach for the past decade, Quinn is a highly-regarded assistant who has apprenticed under perhaps the single-best coach in the NBA. Erik Spoelstra is able to absolutely maximize his players to whatever extent they’re able to help a winning program. His success with undrafted pieces is the stuff of legend.
Spoelstra is also one of the most thorough tacticians in the league, a great pre-game prepper who’s also elite when it comes to after-timeout plays (ATOs). Assuming Quinn can bring that same ethos to Los Angeles, perhaps he can help the Lake Show discover more Austin Reaves-esque diamonds in the rough.
A Hall of Fame point guard in her day (she was a six-time WNBA All-Star and a four-time All-WNBA Team honoree), Hammon quickly became a trailblazer as a coach when she was named the second-ever female assistant coach in the NBA circa 2014. She worked under head coach Gregg Popovich until 2021. During that time, she helped San Antonio capture the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League title.
She was also the first-ever female acting head coach in league history when she was elevated following a Popovich ejection early into an eventual 121-107 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers. Hammon has interviewed for NBA head coaching vacancies before, but has yet to secure a gig. So, she pivoted to the WNBA.
As the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, she has won two straight league titles while leading the team to a stellar 65-20 overall record across parts of three seasons. The Aces also boast an absolutely dominant 16-3 postseason record during their two playoff appearances under Hammon so far. Hammon loves empowering her players on the court, and has shown a particular ability to reach guards. Kelsey Plum blossomed into a superstar under Hammon’s tutelage. She’d be an intriguing hire for a Lakers team looking to maximize playmaking around an aging LeBron James.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
