When will the Lakers catch a break?

Kurt Rambis is always available.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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The Charity of St. Martin; Martin Freminet; 1610-19

Dan Hurley announced that he is in fact staying with UConn. To some (including Friends of GMIB in the comment section last week), this was always the obvious outcome. It became absolutely clear this was going to happen once Hurley left it hanging over the weekend after spending the day in L.A. on Friday. If you are in Los Angeles and you see whatever giant number the Lakers put on a piece of paper and you still fly back to Storrs to decide? It’s over.

The only minor stunner here is that UConn has not yet announced a new contract with Hurley; Woj reports at the above link that the sides are working out the details. No word on where the Lakers turn next. Their most recent championship coach, Frank Vogel, is available, for what it’s worth. J.J. Redick is still on the market, but things have to have gotten weird after Redick spent the past month as the apparent winner of the sweepstakes only to get crushed by the Hurleycane on Thursday. Is Redick OK being the Lakers’ second choice? James Borrego, the other notable candidate, is well-respected in circles that pay closest attention to this stuff, but can the Lakers really sell him to their most strident fans after the Hurley courtship and Redick rumors? Do the Lakers care about that? Their last four head coaches were Byron Scott, Luke Walton, Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham. Not exactly the Hollywood A-list.

This Lakers gig isn’t the hardest job in the NBA. That prize goes to Charles Lee in Charlotte, or Brian Keefe in D.C., or Jordi Fernandez in Brooklyn, or Darko Rajakovic in Toronto. Those coaches are making less than what the eventual Lakers coach will earn, and will have much less public pressure and scrutiny because of the lack of aspirations that untethered from reality. But they also have been assigned the task of making apple pie out of apple cores. At least the Lakers have two All-NBA players and some other talent. The extra salary and fame (future earning potential) you get from coaching the Lakers is the payment for the scrutiny and pressure. That’s a trade individual actors need to decide is worth it, or not.

The fact that Redick tried for the Charlotte job before becoming a top Lakers candidate tells me he really wants to do this. Those are two very different, very difficult openings. At this point, that’s probably where the Lakers should turn, if they think he can do the job. (And hell, even if they don’t think he can, they don’t exactly have the best track record making that call, do they?)

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You Can’t Spell ‘France’ Without ‘fr’

In the latest legitimately shocking controversy ginned up by the “why hasn’t Caitlin Clark been named supreme queen of the WNBA yet?” crowd, folks are raising hell about Clark not having been named to the 12-person Team USA senior women’s basketball team heading to the Paris Olympics this summer.

I have four thoughts on this.