Dan Hurley Issues Statement After Turning Down Lakers’ Big Offer

The Lakers badly wanted Dan Hurley, but they weren’t able to pry him out of Storrs.

Los Angeles reportedly was prepared to make Hurley, the 2024 Naismith Coach of the Year, one of the NBA’s six highest-paid coaches. But the 51-year-old on Monday elected to stay put in Connecticut, where he will try to help the Huskies win their third straight men’s college basketball national championship in the upcoming season.

Not long after the news broke, UConn shared a statement from Hurley to its social media channels.

“I am humbled by this entire experience,” the statement read. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”

By keeping Hurley at the helm, the Huskies maintained their high hopes of becoming the first men’s college basketball program to three-peat as champions in over five decades. The Lakers, meanwhile, will need to go back to the drawing board as they try to replace Darvin Ham.