Lakers to move for Hurley as new head coach – reports

The Los Angeles Lakers will move for Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley to succeed Darvin Ham, according to reports.

The Lakers fired Ham last month after suffering a five-game exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

They have only gone beyond the first round of the postseason once in four years since winning their last NBA championship in 2019-20, missing the playoffs in 2021-22.

According to a report from ESPN, the Lakers have interviewed several candidates for the role and have now settled on Hurley, who has had six seasons with UConn and led them to back-to-back national titles in the last two years.

The report said the Lakers are now preparing a huge, long-term contract offer to Hurley, who has previously spoken of his ambition to coach in the NBA.

Hurley has a 141-58 record with the Huskies and appears to have seen off competition from Charlotte Hornets assistant James Borrego, Boston Celtics assistant Sam Cassell and Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman, all of whom were reportedly interviewed.

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