BREAKING NEWS: Lakers’ $70-million offer not enough for Dan Hurley? ‘There probably is a number’ to leave UConn

**UConn Coach Dan Hurley Chooses Huskies Over Lakers Offer**

Connecticut coach Dan Hurley spread his arms in celebration after cutting down the net following the Elite 8 tournament. On Thursday, he reflected on his difficult decision between staying with the Huskies or accepting the Lakers head coach position. (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press)

The Lakers offered Hurley a substantial contract—$70 million over six years—but he opted to return to UConn to pursue a third consecutive NCAA championship.

Could any amount have swayed Hurley’s decision?

“There probably is,” Hurley said Thursday on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” though he admitted he doesn’t know the exact figure.

After turning down the Lakers’ offer on Monday, Hurley made his first public comments, explaining that it would take an extraordinary sum to leave Storrs, Conn.

“To leave a place where you have such a strong connection with your family—my wife, my sons, my mother-in-law, my father—it means so much. My dad loves attending the Big East tournament and coming to ten UConn home games a year, sitting courtside when I’m coaching against Rick Pitino,” Hurley said. “To leave all that behind, there probably is a number, but I don’t know what it is.”

Hurley, son of legendary high school coach Bob Hurley Sr., has a record of 141-58 in six seasons at Connecticut, including 68-11 over the past two seasons, both culminating in NCAA championships. Last week, he emerged as the Lakers’ top candidate to replace fired coach Darvin Ham, meeting with controlling owner Jeanie Buss and executive vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka on Friday.

“Earlier in the week, I felt it was something I needed to explore—the chance to coach the Lakers, to lead one of the greatest players of all time [LeBron James], another top NBA player [Anthony Davis], and such a storied franchise where legends like Pat Riley and Phil Jackson once coached,” Hurley said. “It was something I had to consider and see what it would be like.”