Bill Murray’s son, Luke, could soon be joining the Lakers coaching staff

In their chase for UConn’s Dan Hurley, the Lakers may also land a very creative offensive mind Luke Murray...who happens to also be the son of famous actor Bill.

There is never a shortage of celebrities lining the court at Crypto.com Arena during Lakers games. A new face could regularly feature next season, though.

The Lakers’ pursuit of UConn head coach Dan Hurley has a lot of variables left. It’s certainly not a done deal that the team signs him, but he did make the trip to Los Angeles on Friday and the talks on a deal were accelerating.

One of the questions that will come after he’s hired is what his coaching staff will look like. The Lakers reportedly were going to have a heavier hand in assembling the staff and there’s been a number of names linked to the team, but how much does all that change when it’s not JJ Redick as the presumed candidate?

There is one person, though, who could come with Hurley to Los Angeles in Luke Murray, son of famous actor Bill. And unlike many things in Hollywood, this is not an undeserving nepo baby situation.

Murray is a long-time coach in the college ranks. He has been an assistant since 2008, including stops with Xavier, Louisville and UConn. Murray joined the Huskies’ staff in 2021 and had a huge role in helping craft UConn’s incredible offense. He’s been someone Hurley has relied upon at the college ranks in multiple stops in his career and it might continue into the NBA.

According to John Fanta of Fox Sports, Hurley very well could bring Murray with him to the Lakers.

The key debate, sources tell FOX Sports, would be whether associate head coach Kimani Young or assistant coach Luke Murray, the son of Hollywood legend Bill Murray, is given the job. Based on what I have heard, it looks like whoever wouldn’t get elevated would join Hurley in the NBA — especially if Murray is not named head coach, he would follow Hurley to L.A. — thus giving that person a nice concession prize and the opportunity to land a head coaching job down the road.

It’s not a guarantee, then, that Murray does join him in Los Angeles as he might be the next in line for the UConn job instead. But if he does leave, he’d be a welcome addition to the staff.

In April, CJ Moore of The Athletic wrote an all-encompassing article on the UConn offense and provided the best look into Murray’s role in shaping the Huskies’ offense. With UConn wanting to implement a style that had four perimeter players, Murray and Hurley went to work together.

“It was really clear that we were going to move to a much more of an off-ball screening identity,” Murray says.

Hurley and Murray studied European teams, stealing different concepts and packages that they could use.

“It’s not like a replica necessarily,” Murray says. “It’s just piecing together what makes the most sense for the group that we have.”

The goal is to put stress on the defense, stacking multiple actions that create indecision for the defense. Most set plays are choreographed. While the Huskies sometimes looked patterned, their offense is like a choose-your-own-adventure story.

The whole article is certainly worth a read as it provides a deep and detailed look at the UConn offense that had opponents befuddled all season long. It’s clear, though, that Murray played a notable role in helping Hurley create and implement his ideas.

If he follows Hurley to Los Angeles, he might be the latest nepo baby to find work in Hollywood, but he’d also be more than qualified for his role.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.