The Lakers may be looking at another head coach after being offered the two-time college basketball national champion’s job.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday that Dan Hurley will remain at the University of Connecticut, though the Lakers were “in the running” for the head coaching spot.
Over the weekend, veteran NBA reporter Mark Stein I wrote on my Substack pageStein Lein has argued that former Villanova University head coach Jay Wright should be considered as a “stealth candidate” to bring the Lakers on board.
“FYI, a strong insider warned us early on to be prepared in case former Villanova coach Jay Wright emerged as a hidden candidate,” Stein wrote. “That backstory will likely surface sooner or later…probably shortly after the Lakers acquire Hurley or not.”
Wright, 62, retired from coaching in 2022 after leading Villanova University to its fourth Final Four.
Wright currently serves as an analyst for CBS Sports’ college basketball broadcasts.
Seth Davis, who works with Wright at CBS, doesn’t think that’s a likely scenario.
“There’s literally a better chance that I’ll be the next head coach of the Lakers than Jay.” Davis wrote to X..
Still, when Wright retired, he left open the slightest possibility that he might one day coach in the NBA.
“Not right now. It’s something I’ve always thought about,” Wright said when asked if he’d ever considered coaching in the NBA. “My Olympic experience kind of whetted that desire. … I feel like I’ve made it a little bit. And I loved coaching the players.”
Before Hurley emerged out of nowhere and was named the front-runner for the Lakers coaching job, JJ Redick was reported as the front-runner.
The Lakers fired Darvin Ham after missing the play-in tournament and have had seven coaching changes in the past 15 years.
