Amid rumors swirling around who will become the Los Angeles Lakers’ new head coach, UConn Huskies women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has appeared to play favorites.
Auriemma appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday morning and was asked for his reaction to Adrian Wojnarowski's shocking Lakers-Dan Hurley report. The decorated Huskies coach shared a chance conversation he had with Hurley on Wednesday night, taking a subtle dig at Lakers coaching candidate JJ Redick in the process.
“I happened to be at a thing with [Dan Hurley] last night,” Auriemma said. “I have no idea what’s going on, you know, I have no idea where this is going or what’s happening, but I just leaned over and said, ‘Hey, I think you could win a lot of championships with the Lakers, more so than a guy who’s never coached.’”
Geno Aurriemma shares his reaction to the Danny Hurley reports and says he was actually with him last night and randomly said to him:
"I think you could win a lot of Championships with the #Lakers, more so than a guy who's never coached." pic.twitter.com/aX0h3cPepx
“[Hurley] just looked at me and nodded, and we had a good laugh,” Auriemma continued. “And I woke up this morning, and somebody sent [the Hurley report] to me, and I said, ‘You gotta be kidding me.’”
True to Auriemma’s point, Redick, currently a NBA analyst for ESPN, has never been a head coach. The Athletic’s Shams Charania tabbed Redick as the frontrunner in the Lakers’ head coaching search earlier this week, but Wojnarowski countered in his Thursday report that UConn’s Dan Hurley was set to receive a “massive, long-term contract offer” from the Lakers.
Redick has said he plans to address speculation over his future coaching career after the NBA Finals.
Hurley, a back-to-back NCAA national champion, said on “The Mike Francesca Podcast” earlier this month that he would be interested in coaching in the NBA “if the right situation [came along].” The UConn men’s basketball coach holds a 141-58 record in six seasons with the Huskies and signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract last season. Hurley would owe UConn roughly $1.9 million if he leaves this summer to coach the Lakers.
KRISTEN WONG
