J.R. Smith issued a brief but stern warning to Dan Hurley as he considers a big-money offer to become the Lakers’ next head coach.
“Don’t be fooled.” Smith wrote to X.However, the message tagged the wrong account instead of the official account of UConn’s head coach, who is a two-time defending national champion.
Smith played high school basketball under Hurley at St. Benedict Prep in New Jersey from 2002-04.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers were “targeting” Hurley for the head coaching position left vacant after the team fired Darvin Ham.
That’s an ominous statement coming from Smith, who played alongside LeBron James for more than three years in Cleveland.
Smith also played briefly with James for the Lakers in 2019-20, appearing in six games off the bench in his final season in the NBA.
James has a player option that would pay him about $51 million for the 2024-25 season and he has until the end of the month to exercise or waive it.
The Lakers have had frequent coaching changes in recent years, and their next coach will be their eighth in the past 15 years.
Michael Chou/The Republic/USA Today Network
Washington Post reporter Dave Brezow met with St. John’s coach Rick Pitino in Saratoga on Friday, and Pitino was confident Hurley would turn down the Lakers’ offer.
“What I’m hearing is, [inside information] — His father [Bob Hurley Sr.] and his wife [Andrea] “They’re such a strong presence in his life, they don’t want to leave,” Pitino said.
“I think he’ll give it a try. [John] Either Calipari tried or I tried. I don’t think he’ll take the job, but I think he’ll try to go pro at some point.”
