The Los Angeles Lakers continue without a head coach following a rejection from Dan Hurley, the championship-winning leader of the Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball program. Hurley publicly turned down the Lakers‘ reported six-year, $70 million contract offer on Monday, forcing Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to look elsewhere to replace the fired Darvin Ham.

For one of the most powerful and iconic brands in North American sports, the Lakers‘ inability to get the Hurley hire over the line serves as a new embarrassment. Los Angeles likely will not have impressed LeBron James, the superstar it is trying to convince to return next season. The Hurley disappointment has brought Buss and the Lakers’ front office under criticism yet again as fans took to social media to voice their outrage.

Buss and Rob Pelinka get roasted over Hurley saga

In recent days, fans have expressed their displeasure with longtime controlling owner Buss and top executive Rob Pelinka, blaming them for failing to secure Hurley or another candidate after a month-long search for Ham‘s replacement. Even though the terms offered to Hurley were generous, the UConn coach chose to stay in the NCAA, where he has a greater chance for immediate success following consecutive national titles with the Huskies.

Since their victory in the 2010 NBA Finals, the Lakers have returned to the Western Conference Finals only twice, and Los Angeles’ 2020 NBA championship occurred in the Florida “bubble,” in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the Lakers’ standards, that is not a good enough return over nearly 15 years of basketball.

Buss and Pelinka will have to do some heavy lifting to get hardcore fans back on their side after a tumultuous end to the 2023/24 season. Hiring ESPN analyst J.J. Redick, who is friendly with LeBron, could help — but if Redick does not find immediate success, the pressure will turn right back up this fall.