Adrian Wojnarowski compares Dan Hurley-to-NBA rumors to Lakers pursuit of Mike Krzyzewski

The Thursday sports news cycle started with the stunning news that the Los Angeles Lakers would be pursuing UConn‘s Dan Hurley for their vacant head coaching job according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Coming in the aftermath of LA parting ways with former head coach Darvin Ham and Hurley turning down interest in other college head coaching jobs after leading the Huskies to back-to-back national championship wins.

Hurley wouldn’t be the first head coach to make the jump from the college to the NBA level if he does join the Lakers. But on ESPN’s Get Up, Wojnarowski compared his current crossroads to one that a basketball legend faced exactly 20 years ago.

“This is the 20th anniversary of the Lakers pursuit of Mike Krzyzewski,” Wojnarowski said. “They offered him $8 million a year in 2004, that puts you above average in the NBA right now. Massive offer for Mike Krzyzewski, he turned it down.”

Krzyzewski was reportedly offered a five-year, $40 million deal along with partial ownership in the Lakers in 2004 following the departure of Phil Jackson. A deal he clearly didn’t take after spending 42 seasons with the Duke Blue Devils. But Woj believes that deal may have gone differently today given the drastic changes to the college athletics landscape.

“If Mike Krzyzewski was in the same position at the same age with the way college basketball has changed, he almost assuredly would probably be the Lakers coach,” Wojnarowski said. “That’s what Dan Hurley is facing now, a very different world than what Mike Krzyzewski [faced]. He could dominate in college, and he did, he had won three national titles at that point. Can you continue to dominate at UConn? Is it sustainable? It might be.”

It’s no secret that the rise of NIL and the transfer portal has already significantly changed college athletics across all sports in its early stages. Particularly in revenue-driving sports like football and basketball where larger schools with bigger budgets and donor bases now have an advantage. A factor that Hurley will definitely have to consider, especially at UConn, when making a decision on his coaching future.

“Dan Hurley, his will, his stature in the profession, but there are going to be football schools with the ability with revenue sharing and NIL that are going to be able to offer players more money than you can,” Wojnarowski explained. “He’s got a top five-team returning, a team that could potentially three-peat in college basketball.”

“But if you want to coach in the NBA and you want to coach at that level, the Lakers give you a chance to get access to what you need to win a championship as well,” Wojnarowski added. “There’s five, or six, or seven players. We all know who they are and you better have one of them if you’re going to win a championship. The Lakers give you a little better chance than almost anywhere else to get that player and that’s certainly everything Hurley’s gotta look at right now.”

Notable head coaches like Krzyzewski, Jay Wright, and Roy Williams have recently stepped away from college basketball along with college head football coaches like Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh. With many pointing at the changes in college sports and the new role head coaches have to play as a reason for the decision of these coaches and others. Making it fascinating to see what path Hurley decides to walk down after being presented with a massive, long-term contract with one of the most iconic franchises in all of professional sports.