The Los Angeles Lakers' head coaching search took a drastic turn earlier this week with UConn's Dan Hurley emerging as a potential candidate. A week after Shams Charania reported the Lakers were zeroing in on JJ Redick, Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Lakers were preparing to offer Hurley a massive contract.
Whether or not this is a ploy for Hurley to leverage his way into more money from UConn remains to be seen. Where there is smoke there is often fire in the NBA and Hurley very well could rip the job from Redick's fingertips.
The Lakers head coach job should be viewed as an honor only bestowed on the best of the best (even if the last hire wasn't so great). Most coaches would jump at this job without thinking twice but not Hurley, who has a great thing going for him at UConn.
Former Lakers role player J.R. Smith doesn't think Hurley should leave his current situation, even going as far as to warn the head coach publicly on social media.
@danhurleyuconn don’t fall for it!
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) June 7, 2024
J.R. Smith warns Dan Hurley as Lakers head coaching buzz grows
Smith is a surprising former Laker to warn Hurley about coaching his former team. Fans would expect this from Russell Westbrook, who had a tumultuous tenure with the team and did not leave on good terms. It is surprising to see this come from someone who spent limited time with the Lakers.
The former three-point marksman joined the Lakers for the 2020 NBA Playoffs in the Orlando bubble. Smith did not play that big of a role for the Lakers in the bubble but still won his second championship with LeBron James for his efforts.
Because of his ties to LeBron, it is shocking to see Smith go out on a limb and warn Hurley against this job publicly. Maybe this has nothing to do about the Lakers and everything to do with LeBron. If that is the case, what is this even supposed to mean?
Is Smith warning Hurley against coaching LeBron? If he warning him about coaching the Lakers and becoming the biggest scapegoat in the league regardless what happens? Is he warning him not to get too excited about the job because it is Redick's to lose as is?
It is unclear what the context of this warning is but one thing is for certain: it is never a great sign when a former member of a team publicly warns a new coach about coaching said team.