Dan Hurley has opened up about the intense emotions and media frenzy surrounding his decision to turn down a lucrative offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. Hurley revealed that his wife, Andrea, “got violently angry” as the situation escalated over the past week.
On Monday, Hurley decided to decline the Lakers’ six-year, $70 million contract offer, choosing instead to stay with the Huskies and aim for a third consecutive NCAA title.
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Andrea’s reaction
He detailed how the potential move weighed heavily on his family, particularly Andrea, who found the media attention overwhelming.
“She was like crying in the beginning,” Hurley told “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz”.
“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’.
“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].”
Hurley had initially planned to take more time to contemplate his future but set a personal deadline, aligning it with a scheduled UConn practice on Monday afternoon.
His choice was rooted in his loyalty to the team and the close-knit community he has built, as well as his desire to pursue another NCAA championship.
