What have you done for me lately? For Frank Vogel and the Los Angeles Lakers, the answer is not enough, apparently.
Just two years removed from leading the team to the NBA title, Vogel is expected to be out as head coach of the Lakers. The search for his replacement is sans a front-runner.
L.A. finished its 2021-2022 campaign—which will not include a playoff appearance—with a disappointing 33-49 record following a 146-141 OT win in Denver Sunday.
Vogel signed a three-year deal with the team in 2019 and inked a one-year extension this past offseason. He hasn’t been informed of any moves yet, but it’s expected.
“I haven’t been told s— and I’m going to enjoy tonight’s game, celebrate what these young guys did in terms of scratching and clawing and getting back in this game and getting a W, and we’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow,” he said postgame.
Injuries marred the season, as uber star LeBron James and Anthony Davis missed time, and the Russell Westbrook experiment didn’t pan out. The three played a total of 21 games (11-10) together this season.
Despite lofty expectations heading into the season, the Laker Show finished in the bottom 10 in major offensive and defensive categories.
“He kept his cool the whole time,” Laker Malik Monk said. “Didn’t talk about no problems like that. Didn’t talk about anything like that, man. He came in and worked and always gave us a great game plan. He was always about us; it was never really about him. And I praise him for that, man. I know that was pretty hard on him, but he never talked about it. He never changed his demeanor.”
