As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their pursuit of UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley, an old rejection has resurfaced for LA. Two decades ago, the Lakers were coming off a stunning upset loss in the 2004 NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons. Then-head coach Phil Jackson and LA decided to go their separate ways, leaving a gaping hole on the Lakers’ bench, so to speak.
That time when the Los Angeles Lakers tried to hire a college basketball legend

That opened the door for the Lakers to pursue then-Duke Blue Devils mentor Mike Krzyzewski, who later passed up on the opportunity to call the shots for the Purple and Gold franchise.
Via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
“The pursuit of Hurley comes on the 20th anniversary of the Lakers trying to hire Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to a record-breaking contract in 2004. Krzyzewski elected to remain at Duke, but the climate has dramatically changed in college athletics. The demands of NIL fundraising for non-power football schools like UConn are an especially relentless grind — and expected to become even more difficult.”
After Krzyzewski turned down the Lakers’ offer, they were coached by Rudy Tomjanovich and Frank Hamblen in the 2004-05 season before Jackson returned to the bench in 2005.

This time, it is Hurley the Lakers are going after. Hurley has seen his basketball coaching career go through the roof following back-to-back titles with the Huskies. However, even with a reported offer on the table to coach the glitziest and most popular NBA franchise, Hurley is said to be having second thoughts. In any case, the Lakers can’t call their offseason a success at least until they hire a new head coach.

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