With the news that the Los Angeles Lakers are pursuing UConn basketball's Dan Hurley to be the team's next coach, reaction has been swift.
Lakers legend Magic Johnson is excited at the prospect and took to social media to share his thoughts.
“I heard the great news that Lakers Owner Jeanie Buss and GM/VP of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka have had conversations with back-to-back NCAA champion and current UCONN Head Coach, Dan Hurley, about becoming the next Lakers Head Coach! I'm so excited and thrilled! This would be a game changer for the Lakers organization, LeBron, AD, the rest of the Laker players, Laker Nation and the NBA! Coach Hurley can coach his butt off lol”
Hurley is fresh off leading UConn to their second of two straight NCAA Championships and, while he had some interest from NBA teams looking to bring him to the Association, he generally didn't seem to be interested in leaving the Huskies. That hasn't stopped the Lakers, though, and they are looking to pull out all the stops to bring Hurley to Los Angeles.
Last month, the Lakers parted ways with Darvin Ham after two seasons as head coach.
Ham, 50, signed a four-year contract in May 2022 worth about $5 million annually. Unless he's hired elsewhere, the Lakers will be on the hook for the money.
Jeanie Buss' Lakers rumored to be chasing Dan Hurley, JJ Redick

On Wednesday, it appeared that Jeanie Buss and co. were set to make JJ Redick the next head coach of the Lakers.




A report from Shams Charania of The Athletic said that Redick was the frontrunner for the job.
Redick has primarily worked in the NBA media world since retiring as a player. Rumors have gained steam in recent years about Redick potentially landing a job as a head coach, however. Unless a possible deal falls through, Redick seems to be on track to earn the Lakers' head coaching gig.
The rumors began to heat up in earnest once Redick and Lakers star LeBron James started a podcast together. LeBron has a player option for the 2024-25 season, though he's expected to ultimately return.
However, Redick previously made it clear that he wants to coach, via the Road Trippin' podcast.
“What I really miss is the juice, I miss the action, I miss the competition, I miss leadership, I miss being on a team,” Redick said. “Like in a locker room, like physically in a locker room after winning a road game. Like you miss that stuff. There is a high that you get as an athlete that goes beyond passing, and shooting, and dribbling… taking a charge, or dunking a basketball.
“Those are all these little moments of actual game play, it's the other moments that I feel like we all miss as ex-athletes right. The part about coaching in general, it’s a very general statement, is like the things that I miss and the things that I love doing. That involves coaching, that all is part of coaching.”