UConn head coach Kevin Ollie is leaning towards staying with the Huskies, a person close to Ollie told Def Pen Sports.
Several NBA teams have recently expressed interest in hiring Kevin Ollie. As previously reported, the Los Angeles Lakers had eyed Ollie following the unexpected firing of head coach Byron Scott. According to a source, the Sacramento Kings are now joining the Lakers as interested suitors, as well.
After Vlade Divac and company decided to fire George Karl earlier this month, Sacramento has been connected to almost every available coaching name on the market. Candidates include Mark Jackson, Luke Walton, Jeff Van Gundy, and others. Kevin Ollie isn’t the only college coach Kings’ GM Vlade Divac is interested in, according to the Sacramento Bee’s Ailene Voison.
The Kings are hoping to hire their new head coach sometime next week, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports.
While both Sacramento and Los Angeles continue their respective head coaching searches, Kevin Ollie’s focus is prominently on the UConn Huskies as of right now. Ollie is committed to staying with the UConn for years to come, but remains open to leaving the team if the right opportunity approaches him, a source said.
Kevin Ollie is heading into the second year of a five-year, $16.5 million extension agreed upon with UConn back in 2014.
Ollie has also notified recruits of his intentions of staying with the Huskies, per Evan Daniels of scout.com:
2016 guard Christian Vital verbally committed to Connecticut on Friday, he informed Scout.
“I’m staying in the Northeast,” Vital said with excitement.
Vital, a 6-foot-2 guard out of Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, picked Kevin Ollie and the Huskies over Louisville.
“Basically [Kevin Ollie], he’s texted me before 9:00 every day this week,” Vital said. “Just letting me know about he Lakers situation and that he loves me and he’s staying at UConn. That really means something to me, to have that kind of relationship with the head coach, knowing he has a million things to do.”
Despite leaning towards staying with the Huskies, Kevin Ollie still remains open to leaving the team if the right NBA coaching opportunity approaches, as previously reported. Ollie had expressed interest in joining the Los Angeles Lakers recently, interest that has since winded down, according to a source. The Lakers and Kings would have to be willing to make serious intriguing offers, specifically financially speaking, for Ollie to leave Connecticut.
With that being said, it’s not safe to completely rule the thought of Kevin Ollie joining an NBA team just yet. However, it remains extremely unlikely that any NBA team will offer him a contract tempting enough to take over his current head coaching job at UConn.
Kevin Ollie, a 12-year NBA veteran, guided the UConn Huskies to its fourth ever National Championship back in 2014. With superstar Kevin Durant set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it’s easy to see why multiple teams are interested in Ollie’s services. Ollie, a former teammate with Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder, maintains a close relationship with the four-time NBA scoring champion to this day.
Those hoping to lure Durant could register serious consideration from him should they be able to offer the guidance of his friend Kevin Ollie to the table. Nonetheless, it appears Kevin Ollie will stay with the UConn Huskies as head coach for many seasons to come, barring an extremely unlikely change of heart or unforeseen scenario.
