The Los Angeles Lakers spent the summer of 2024 looking for a new head coach.
The Los Angeles Lakers ultimately agreed to sign JJ Redick as the franchise’s next head coach.
However, before Redick handed over his coaching duties, Purple and Gold interviewed several other candidates, including Dan Hurley of UConn Huskies.
Harley is an incredible coach, but he essentially used the Lakers’ offer as leverage to secure a key extension with the NCAA’s Husky.
The Lakers have one of the league’s most passionate fanbases. Coach Ham was furious following his departure from the team.
In a similar way, Harley revealed that Lakers fans were guaranteed to call him, especially after Luka Donsic was traded for purple and gold.
“Yeah, I got some of them, I got some of them, but I think most of them are Lakers fans who message you that you’re the biggest idiot.
The opportunity to have a Doncic with a team is to make dreams come true for NBA coaches. After all, the Slovenian superstar is currently one of the best players in the league.
Laker Nation certainly did an amazing job of reminding Hurley of his mistakes as Doncic signed a three-year extension with the team this summer.
Don’t forget that the Lakers are homes other than LeBron James. Had Harley accepted the Lakers job, he could have coached both James and Don Sic.
What Harley said next in his conversation with Zack Lowe certainly shows that UConn coaches have some regrets about turning down the Lakers.
“Maybe your mind goes a little bit there, ‘Man, you might have coached LeBron and Luka on the same team,” Harley admitted.
Harley may never take a shot in coaching the Luka LeBron duo, but he may one day try to fix his sour relationship with Lakers fans.