The Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Frank Vogel are expected to part ways after the 2021-22 season, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer on Tuesday.
It’s been a disastrous campaign for the LeBron James-led Lakers, who are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether after winning the 2020 NBA title in the COVID bubble.
Should they lose to the NBA-best Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles would officially be eliminated from playoff contention — including the play-in tournament for the No. 7-10 seeds.
Much of that has to do with their league-worst 10-27 record during the second half of the season, exacerbated by the 17-game absence of Anthony Davis. However, a team featuring James — who is playing at an MVP level in his 19th season — and Russell Westbrook should easily be entrenched within the top-10 of the Western Conference.
That hasn’t been the case, as Vogel logically becomes the first man in which the finger has been pointed out.
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After going 52-19 in 2019-20 on their way to a title in Vogel’s first season, the Lakers went 40-32 last year and were beaten in six games by the Suns in the first round.
There have been reports throughout the season of roster disagreements between the head coach and management regarding Westbrook — though the veteran point guard certainly doesn’t seem thankful for the vote of confidence considering his demeanor toward coaching decisions.
Russ had a very interesting answer when asked about what Vogel and the coaching stuff have done to help the team figure things out this year:
"They've done things that they felt was best for our team. And I'll leave it at that."
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) April 3, 2022
This is Vogel’s 11th season as an NBA head coach having previous stints with the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic. He’s gone 125-96 over his three seasons with the Lakers.
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is being mentioned as his possible successor in Los Angeles.
