Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Frank Vogel as the season comes to an end for him and the Los Angeles Lakers. The reporting is bringing some ugly things to light as people outside of Los Angeles try to figure out where it exactly went wrong for the NBA’s most storied franchise this season. Vogel is also expected to be gone in the offseason, which might be why these stories are coming out now.
There have already been reports that players ignored the coaching staff during games this season, and Anthony Davis seemingly threw some shade at the coach in a recent press conference as well. And according to what a source from one of the NBA teams told Heavy, players on the Lakers were texting during the games, sometimes even when Frank Vogel was standing right in front of them.
“I couldn’t believe it. And later when we met up, he said he wasn’t the only motherf***** texting other people,” the employee told Heavy.
“He said it was nothing against Vogel. The players liked Frank and thought he knew what he was doing. They saw him as a good guy and a good basketball guy, but Frank had been marginalized too much. The Rambis component, the LeBron checking out component — it all served to sort of undermine Frank Vogel.”
If these reports are to be believed, then Vogel’s position with the Lakers is even worse than initially suspected. When a coach loses the roster to this extent, it is almost impossible for them to get back to a level of respect that is required to lead a team to the championship.
The roster will also go through significant changes ahead of next season considering how bad it’s been at times this season, and the Lakers have a lot of work ahead of them to rebuild a winning culture within the franchise once again.
