Dan Hurley insists he didn't use Lakers' interest as leverage for a better contract from UConn

However, the coach admitted he didn't get an offer he couldn't refuse

Ian Casselberry
·Contributing writer
Updated ·3-min read

Dan Hurley balked at the notion that he used interest from the Los Angeles Lakers as leverage to get a better contract from UConn.

Appearing on "The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz" on Thursday, the two-time national championship coach said that no "leverage play" was necessary because terms of his new contract with UConn have already been in place as the Huskies prepare to pursue a third consecutive national title.

"One of the worst takes I've heard is that this was a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn," Hurley said. "I don't need leverage here. We've won back-to-back national championships at this place. ... I've had a contract in place here for a couple of weeks."

Hurley said he wasn't using the situation to become the highest-paid coach in college basketball. According to him, his new contract will do that, which means he'll make more than the $9.6 million per year that Kansas coach Bill Self is currently paid.

"The financial part, in terms of salary, has been done for a while," he continued. "There's some other parts, like NIL and staff salaries, some different things that I want adjusted, that I'm not comfortable with. But the sense of the idea that this was some conspiracy to get me a sweeter deal at UConn is just, it's lazy."

However, Hurley did acknowledge that he could have taken the Lakers job if he'd received an offer that he couldn't refuse. The Lakers reportedly offered Hurley a six-year, $70 million deal, which would have placed him among the NBA's six highest-paid coaches.

"To leave a place at any moment in your life, to say that it's not a motivating factor — the finances — is definitely a thing," Hurley said. "I know how much it means to my dad to go to the Big East tournament and come to 10 UConn games a year at home, sitting courtside, when I'm coaching against Rick Pitino. To leave all of that behind, there probably is a number. I don't know what that is."

Later on Thursday, Hurley held a press conference on campus and explained why staying at UConn ultimately felt like the right decision for him.

"In the end, it's like, 'What fulfills you?'" Hurley said, via The Middletown Press' Paul Doyle. "What is the combination of your mind and your heart telling you to do? What's best for your family? Where do you belong at this point?"

"This was a great test and a great exercise for me for how I feel about UConn," he added, "how I feel about being a college coach and other things that have value. Situations like this come up for you to test your value system and the things are important to you."

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