In the wake of Dan Hurley rejecting a more lucrative financial offer from the Los Angeles Lakers in order to remain with UConn, a discussion has emerged on the attractiveness of L.A.’s head coach job in general.
The Lakers remain one of the most prestigious and recognizable franchises in all of sports and throughout the years have almost always remained at or near the top of the NBA landscape. But in looking at the team’s current situation, it is fair to wonder whether the Lakers job is a good or bad one.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe feels the latter is the case and broke down why on Tuesday morning’s episode of Get Up:
"The Lakers job is not that great of a job. … You're not staring at a no-brainer championship window."
? @ZachLowe_NBA pic.twitter.com/CxhoFNchWK
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 11, 2024
Lowe undoubtedly makes some good points on the current state of the Lakers. They have been a mid-level team in the West since winning the NBA Championship in 2020, being a Play-In Tournament team three of the last four years. And the West is undoubtedly improving as was evidenced throughout the playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder all emerging as championship threats, in addition to the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers are also in the midst of transitioning into a new era with LeBron James in the final years of his career. As such, the franchise is in win-now mode while also eyeing the future, an extremely difficult situation for a coach to juggle. Add in the level of scrutiny and pressure that comes with being coach of the Lakers and the fact that the team will be on its third coach in six seasons and it is completely understandable why some wouldn’t see this as an attractive position.
But it is that pressure, and the microscope the franchise is always under, which makes the Lakers job unlike any other in the NBA. And it also makes the success that much greater when you reach the mountaintop.
The Lakers are not every other NBA team. There is a lot of risk that comes with taking the job, so for someone like Hurley, who is in as comfortable a position as a college coach can be in, it may not be worth it as there is far more security.
However, there are still a number of positives that come with this job. First and foremost, the opportunity to coach a pair of superstars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis gives any coach a great starting point, even as the former’s career winds down. The franchise has also shown that they are willing to do whatever it takes to compete each and every year.
Where some teams are OK with down years and just being average, the Lakers are about excellence and making whatever moves they can to compete, financials be damned. This is a franchise that is, has and always will be committed to winning.
And make no mistake, the Lakers are still a destination franchise who appeal to stars. James and Davis wanted to come to this team and history has shown that this team will land another star because, as silly as it may sound to some, this is the Lakers.
Many will argue that the moves being made under general manager Rob Pelinka are the issue and he certainly deserves his share of criticism. In particular, the Russell Westbrook trade was one that everyone knew was a bad fit from the beginning. And it also cost the team valuable depth as Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma were all gone because of it.
However, Pelinka and the Lakers should get credit for not being stubborn and working to deal Westbrook away which did bring the team back valuable contributors in D’Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt. Not to mention trading for Rui Hachimura and finding Austin Reaves as an undrafted free agent shows this front office is still capable of making some really solid hits.
Additionally, there were a number of signings and trades that were great on paper, only for the players themselves to not deliver. Dennis Schroder (the first time), Danny Green, Wesley Matthews, Marc Gasol, Malik Beasley and Christian Wood to name a few, were all additions that were widely praised at the time, only for them to shoot far worse than their career averages when putting on that Lakers uniform. Surely Pelinka can’t be blamed for that.
Winning with Lakers means more
When being measured to the standards of most other NBA franchises, sure the Lakers job may look like a bad one. But the Lakers aren’t a regular team, they are one of the most prestigious organizations in sports and with that comes a higher level of standards and expectations, but also the greatest level of success anyone can get within the NBA.
Winning anywhere else is great, but winning in the purple and gold is legendary. The right head coach will understand that and take that chance to go down in history.
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