"It’s a mess" - Why Tom Izzo told Dan Hurley to turn down the Lakers' $70M offer

The University of Connecticut’s Dan Hurley was pursued by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024 to be their head coach. He admitted that he strongly considered it but eventually turned it down, believing he would better serve the game of basketball by staying in college coaching.

Izzo consulted Hurley to stay at UConn

In arriving at his decision, the UConn coach shared that among those he consulted about making the jump to the NBA was longtime Michigan State bench tactician, Tom Izzo, who at one point was approached by the Cleveland Cavaliers to be their coach.

Former NBA player JJ Redick, with no prior coaching experience, eventually landed the Lakers’ job.

On the recent episode of “The Dan Patrick Show,” Hurley shared the role Izzo played in his decision to turn down the lucrative six-year, $70-million head-coaching contract from the Lakers, highlighting how the veteran coach provided the pros and cons of leaving collegiate play.

“Coach Izzo, he walked me through just, you know, his thought process when he went through, like, you know, the decision-making of making that move to the NBA and the pros and cons… The point that coach had made to me was you know, hey, I think you really got to consider our sport right now. It’s, uh, you know it’s so unregulated. It’s such a mess,” Hurley said.

“Coach has been there for me on lots of different things you know and I’ve studied coach for a long time like I have all the great coaches taking advice from all [them],” he added.

Success at UConn

Hurley arrived at UConn in 2018 after serving as head coach at Rhode Island. With the Huskies, he had a rough start before eventually getting it together. In his third and fourth year with the team, he steered UConn to the NCAA Tournament, but they exited in the first round each time.

They, however, came back big time in the next two seasons, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 2023 and 2024, which considerably upped his stock as a coach.

In the ongoing March Madness, UConn has earned a spot in the Sweet 16 after topping Furman and UCLA in the first two rounds in the East Region.

They are to battle Izzoo and Michigan State in the regional semifinals on Friday at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Lakers moved on from Hurley

Meanwhile, following their failed bid to lure Hurley over their fold, the Lakers gave the keys to Redick and have had some success so far.

In his first season last year, the former Duke star coached the purple and gold to a 50-32 campaign. They, however, absorbed a first-round exit in the playoffs at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This year, the Lakers are poised to end up with another 50-plus wins. Winners of 13 of their last 15 games, they are currently at 47-26, with nine games left in their regular-season assignments. Luka Doncic and LeBron James are bannering their campaign, with Austin Reaves’ breakout season providing added dimension to their attack.

The Lakers coaching job is one of the most sought-after in the NBA, and for Hurley to turn it down speaks volumes about where his heart for coaching lies, and college basketball is better for it.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 27, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“It’s a mess” – Why Tom Izzo told Dan Hurley to turn down the Lakers’ $70M offer

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