With the Los Angeles Lakers recently falling short in their pursuit of Dan Hurley for their vacant head-coaching position, countless rumors have leaked about the state of the organization.
The Lakers reportedly offered Hurley — the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut — a six-year, $70 million deal to become the next skipper in L.A. He declined, with some feeling like the Lakers lowballed him.
Now, it’s being reported that the general opinion around the NBA is that the Lakers have a “very frugal” front office.
“The general opinion around the league is that the Lakers have a very frugal front office,” wrote NBA insider Eric Pincus. “The [Los Angeles] Clippers spare no expense with a massive staff, but the Lakers’ sparse front office lacks common features, such as a pro personnel department. Outside of the scouting department for the draft, L.A. doesn’t have scouts spread throughout the league watching NBA talent on a nightly basis in person like other franchises.”
The Lakers are one of the most recognizable franchises in all of sports, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they spend like one.
It also doesn’t mean that they have all the resources they should. Lakers Daily’s Anthony Irwin shared some information on the matter.
“Regardless, one major takeaway from how this played out is a hit to the Lakers’ reputation in coaching circles,” wrote Irwin. “Sources say the Lakers are seen as a skeleton crew that does not provide its coaches with proper resources.”
One NBA assistant coach told Irwin that the role of Lakers head coach “just isn’t a good job.”
“It just isn’t a good job,” the coach said. “They negotiate as if it’s some grand honor to coach the Lakers, but the reality is you’re looking at a couple years before you’re going to get scapegoated. That’s obviously the case with most coaches, but the Lakers in particular don’t seem to value the position.”
One way or another, the Lakers are going to need to hire a head coach this offseason that can get the team where it needs to go. After two years of Darvin Ham resulted in one deep playoff run and one first-round exit, L.A. is looking for some new blood.
As the Lakers try to land a quality candidate, one additional obstacle they may need to navigate is the possibility that the Cleveland Cavaliers — another team looking to fill a head-coaching vacancy — may be seen as a more desirable landing spot for candidates.
James Borrego could be a candidate that the two franchises have to fight over, a potentially troubling scenario for the Lakers if the Cavs job is truly seen as a better option by many.
The 2024-25 NBA season will eventually come around, and the hope has to be that the Lakers will be far more organized by then than they are now. Perhaps in the future, the organization’s front office will reach a place where it isn’t seen as “frugal” by people around the league.
