that tracks
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Kobe was drafted by Charlotte.
How did the Lakers get the # 1 pick? Glad you asked:
I donāt think this Lakers job is good from a basketball perspective right now. Itās also opened up three times in the past 4-5 years and thereās a risk in going and it not working almost immediately. That said, I think heād do a good job and actuallyā¦if I were himā¦ Iād be more interested in the job if LeBron wasnāt there.
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Actually totally agree with this. If heās there the pressure is on to win immediately. Plus Lebron will have way too much say in free agent acquisitions and such.
Much more ideal to go in after heās gone and build the team you want to build without all the urgency. Itās still the Lakers so youāll be able to attract plenty of talent. But youāll have way more control and time.
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Just two points. One, if Hurley passes it is unlikely to come around again, so waiting for LeBron to leave is unlikely to be a luxury for him. Two, apparently the Lakers intend to give him a long-term contract ā 6-7 years ā potentially eliminating the threat of quick turnover. Poor hiring decisions in the recent past appear to have shifted their intention to hire based in large part on player development, hence the long-term contract.
I donāt know. I saw an interview with him answering a question regarding what would make him leave UConn. The two things he mentioned were burnout (citing winning a championship and diving directly into recruuting a new team), and going to the NBA; this was an April interview.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see what happens.
I take your point, but whew were there some fallow years in recent memory:
Likeā¦this is definitely technically a roster of basketball players:
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Why? They are about to have their eighth coach since Phil Jackson left after the 2011 season.
And historically, they do not pay their head coaches at market value
This would also be a smart move by Hurley to dip his toe in the waters and then stay at UConn to be able to show recruits that heās committed and be able to sign better ones.
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Right. Those two issues have been addressed by the Lakersā front office; they are willing to make a very lucrative long-term offer to solve both problems. If Hurley dips his toe and goes back to UConn that is obviously fine, but the job likely wonāt be his for the taking again.
If he really wants an NBA coaching job he would be taking a big risk turning the Lakers down.
Or he could just forget about it and go for a third-consecutive title.
Edit: I apologize; I misread your comment about dipping his toe. I donāt think he needs to do that for recruiting; not necessary.
Iām not sure if Hurleyās wife is going to want to leave the tri-state area.
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I guess I think many NBA teams would be interested in Hurley if he put himself out there as available. The question for me is which job heād jump to if he wanted to. The past few years have seen a lot of turnover for playoff teams (Milwaukee, Phoenix, Philly, LAL, Cleveland) and I expect that to continue next year.
Depending on how next year goes, I could see Memphis, GSW, Pelicans, Lakers again 
and Clippers all becoming available
Tony hasnāt said no yet
I understand, and those are valid points. I suppose I should be more clear. I am not advocating for Hurley to accept the offer; I am just thinking out loud about why it might be attractive to him. There are a lot of reasons for him to remain at UConn for sure.
As a Pels fan, I donāt think Willie Green is in any trouble. Players love him, heās a master at managing the locker room, defense has improved dramatically under him.
His problem has been Ingram & Zion not being healthy at the same time. On the rare occasions they have, Pels have been a top 4 team in the West. Zion getting hurt right at playoff time every year has killed any momentum, but thatās not on Willie.
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If Hurley leaves, can UConn players jump back into the portal even the the window has closed?
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Yes; they get 30 days
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Hurley must be waiting for his Tipton Edit to be done
https://x.com/cbssports/status/1800172271434338548?s=46&t=wAzMZR-0PRGT1LpN6U5x0g
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After this whole hub bub I think Iām officially on the āUConn is the new Dukeā train. Tired of Hurleyās antics and whining. This saga has been tiring. Their fans are miserable.
Also, is Hurley a great coach or just his assistants? People are asking (me).
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Yeah, but itād probably hurt.
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And this is why you leave the open scholarship
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