"If not for LeBron, they're in the wilderness for a decade": Nick Wright blasts Rob Pelinka and Lakers over Hurley's coaching snub
Sports television personality Nick Wright criticized the LA Lakers for what he perceives as incompetence in managing their organization, particularly highlighting their recent failed attempt to recruit UConn coach Dan Hurley.
Wright said that without LeBron James joining the team, the Lakers would have struggled to stay competitive. LA endured a five-year playoff drought before LeBron James joined the team. Despite his arrival, they missed the playoffs in his first year but went on to win the championship the following season.
During a segment of "What’s Wright? with Nick Wright," the host pointed out LA's track record of mismanagement and suggested that they have not made any significant correct decisions in the past decade.
“Someone tell me what Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office have done in a decade to show you they know what they're doing,” Wright said.
"’Well, Nick, they won a championship.’ If not for the fact that LeBron James graced your organization with a free agency decision six years ago, you'd be in the wilderness for a decade as the Lakers. Either way, They're a poorly run mom-and-pop operation. That's what they are.”
Despite the Lakers’ efforts to recruit Hurley, the successful UConn coach decided to remain with his current team, signing a lucrative six-year, $70 million contract.
This decision left the team without a head coach more than a month after their season ended after getting eliminated by the Denver Nuggets. Their recently fired coach, Darvin Ham, has already been hired by the Milwaukee Bucks to become an assistant coach.
Their offseason also includes key decisions regarding LeBron James' impending free agency and the potential drafting of his son, Bronny, into the NBA.
Key dates for free agency include June 30, when NBA teams can start negotiating with upcoming free agents at 6 p.m. ET, and July 6, when teams can begin signing free agents to contracts starting at 12:01 p.m. ET.
Nick Wright dissects Lakers' failed Dan Hurley pursuit
Nick Wright suggested two potential explanations for LA's inability to secure Dan Hurley as their head coach.
Despite earlier reports focusing on JJ Redick and James Borrego as top candidates, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN came out with a report indicating that Hurley had been the primary target in the team's coaching search.
“There are two options as to why Dan Hurley is not the Lakers' coach. Option 1: They publicly targeted a guy, leaked it, let Woj know, let everyone know, made a big story of it, and then they were unable to land their candidate, either out of cheapness or incompetence,” Wright said.
Wright's second theory posited that the LA may not have actually intended to hire Dan Hurley and just wanted to convey to the public and media that they were pursuing top-tier candidates beyond Redick to create an impression of ambition even if they knew they were unlikely to land Hurley.
“And it was PR. Both of those options suck. Both of those options scream incompetence,” Wright said.
Hurley guided UConn to back-to-back national championships and boasts a 141-58 record over six seasons at the helm.