Dan Hurley’s wife, Andrea, got ‘violently angry’ over Lakers courtship: ‘Now you’re bringing this s–t’
Dan Hurley said his wife, Andrea, “got violently angry” during the Lakers’ courtship of the UConn men’s basketball coach, which transpired into a media circus over the last week.
Hurley — who turned down the Lakers’ six-year, $70 million contract offer on Monday to pursue a three-peat with the Huskies — explained how the situation weighed heavily on his family, especially Andrea, who was emotional amid the media frenzy.
“She was like crying in the beginning,” Hurley said during an appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on Thursday. “I think initially, the first couple days of it, she got violently angry and emotional, not like hitting me and stuff… she got emotional like, ‘I can’t believe you’re bringing this. Our life is so great… it’s perfect. Our lives couldn’t be better and now you’re bringing this s–t.
Warning: Explicit language
UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley talks about his decision to turn down the Lakers head coach position during an appearance on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on June 13, 2024.
“So, she was bad in the beginning but then she warmed up to it when we got out there and she met [Lakers GM] Rob [Pelinka] and she met Jeanie [Buss] and felt the weather. We drove around Manhattan Beach and just met the people mostly. And she saw the vision of it. She was into it.
“But then when we got back to Connecticut without having made a decision and we got back home and we both flipped back [to UConn].”
Danny Hurley and Andrea Hurley in Storrs, CT.Stefano Giovannini
Hurley explained that he would’ve taken more time to make a decision about his future but gave himself a “deadline,” which he said was a scheduled practice with UConn on Monday afternoon.
“[The decision] was weighing on me and my wife and my two sons and our whole family,” Hurley said, because things had “become too much of a circus” in the media.
The couple flew to Los Angeles last week to meet with Lakers brass, where he said they spent time around the facility with Pelinka and Buss.
Although it was an “incredible opportunity,” Hurley, who described himself as “a simple man,” opted for the brotherhood he helped create at UConn and chase a third straight NCAA title.
“Trying to imagine walking into the locker room and telling your team, ‘I’m not with you guys anymore.’ Because the beautiful thing that is still there for us in college at UConn — that the NIL and [transfer] portal hasn’t destroyed — is we have a real, beautiful connection here still in college.
“There is a feeling of connection [and] brotherhood. There is real, true emotion and feelings here because of the way our program functions. In the end, it was probably a deciding factor — is your desire to continue to be a part of and not knowing that that is necessarily something you could be a part of in the pro ranks.”
However, Hurley did say “there probably is a number” the Lakers could have offered for him to leave UConn, “but I don’t know what that is.”
Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley shouts during the Men’s NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on April 8, 2024.Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
After his first national title win in 2023, Hurley agreed to a $32.1 million contract extension with UConn that runs through 2029.
“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said in a statement on Monday. “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”
The Lakers are now looking at other potential head coaching candidates, including James Borrego, an associate head coach of the Pelicans, former NBA guard JJ Redick and CBS Sports’ Jay Wright, according to multiple reports.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley celebrates after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers in the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on April 8, 2024.Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
Redick will formally interview with the Lakers this weekend in Los Angeles, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday.
The ESPN analyst is close friends with Lakers star LeBron James, and the pair launched a basketball-focused podcast together, “Mind the Game,” in March.
The Lakers parted ways with coach Darvin Ham in May following two seasons and he joined the Bucks as the top assistant to head coach to Doc Rivers, it was reported this week.
