NBA Rumors: UConn Huskies could double Kevin Ollie’s salary to fend off Lakers
By Josh Hill
The Los Angeles Lakers need a new head coach and they have started looking to the All-Star college ranks to find him. While John Calipari is on their radar, so too is the guy who outcoached him in the National Championship game – UConn’s Kevin Ollie.
According to college basketball guru Andy Katz of ESPN Los Angeles, while the Lakers pursuit of Ollie is very real and will invoke the team formally reaching out to him, UConn is scrambling to make sure that when such a thing happens they won’t lose their head coach.
Katz notes that the Huskies are in talks to double Ollie’s salary which would see him earn as much as $2.6 million per season, raising the bar from the $7.5 million overall deal he got originally.
Los Angeles always seemed a long shot to land Ollie anyways as there are far better jobs in the NBA that he could find if he stays at UConn. Plus, the team he has crafted was the antithesis of Kentcuky’s one-and-done style so jumping the NBA after his first big season seems to send the wrong message.
Ollie has a place in the NBA as a coach but his place at the moment is UConn and the school seems willing to break the bank to prove that to him.