The firing of head coach Frank Vogel is going to happen. It’s just a matter of when.
Asked directly whether he had spoken with anyone in the Lakers’ front office about his future, Vogel was clear that this was news to him.
“My reaction is, I haven’t been told s— and I’m going to enjoy tonight’s game and celebrate what these young guys did in terms of scratching and clawing and getting back into this game and getting a W. We’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow,” he said.
Frank Vogel Reacts to Report He’s Out as Lakers Coach https://t.co/1dNXxxSXZ9
— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) April 11, 2022
Vogel had reportedly lost his connection with his players. Apparently his players reaction to him in real time during games wasn’t great.
“Opposing scouts said they saw Lakers players ignoring their coaches’ instruction,” wrote Dan Woike and Broderick Turner.
During training camp, Vogel looked to establish the Lakers as a fast-breaking team, just like they were during their championship season, but Westbrook threatened to torpedo such efforts.
“Russ [Westbrook] never respected Frank [Vogel] from Day 1,” said one Lakers staff member with knowledge of the situation. “The moment Frank said anybody who gets the rebound can bring it up the court, which is just how the NBA is played these days, Russ was like, ‘Naw, I’m the point guard. Give the ball to me. Everybody run. Frank was like, ‘No, we have Talen [Horton-Tucker] We have Austin [Reaves]. We have Malik. We have LeBron. We have AD. They can all bring the ball up.’ He was like, ‘Nope, I’m the point guard. Give me that s—. Everybody get out the way.’
“From that point on, in training camp, it was a wrap, ‘cause now Russ is a fish out of water. He doesn’t know what to do. That’s how that started.”
Vogel was forced to change the starting lineup probably a little too much, but that goes along with the pressure of having to win now.
Having too many cooks in the kitchen will always sink a team, and we know with Russ and LeBron, you have some pretty oversized egos.
You can’t win if you don’t respect the man in charge.
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