Just two years removed from being a title-winning head coach with the Lakers back in 2020, Frank Vogel was fired on Monday after one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history. The disappointment truly comes from a preseason photo of the Lakers that potentially showed six Hall of Famers(LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, and Russel Westbrook) and that team didn’t even make it to the play-in-tournament.
Frank Vogel was under contract for another year, but since 2020 the Lakers have had a record 75-79, which is unacceptable for a championship franchise.
After Vogel’s firing on Monday, general manager Rob Pelinka had this to say.
“Today is not going to be a day of finger-pointing and unwinding all the specific reasons. We just felt organizationally, at the highest level, it was time for a new voice. … That’s not to say anything against the incredible accomplishments that Frank Vogel has had. He was a great coach here, and he’s going to go on to be a great coach somewhere else.”
LeBron James also spoke about his former head coach, saying,
“I respect Frank as a coach, as a man,” James said. “Our partnership that we’ve had over the few years here has been nothing but candid, and great conversations. This is a guy that gives everything to the game and prepared us every single night. … I don’t know what’s going to happen with Frank being here, but I’ve got nothing but respect for him.”
Pelinka doesn’t plan to replace Vogel immediately, and he said he hasn’t even assembled a list of potential candidates. The Lakers have not dismissed any of Vogel’s coaching staff at this time.
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