Back in 2019, the L.A. Lakers hired Frank Vogel as a coach, and it is a move that was widely praised at first.
Vogel, who had previous coaching stints in Indiana and Orlando, was a respected leader and brilliant strategist who was brought on to help the Lakers establish themselves as true title contenders.
That’s exactly what happened in 2020 when Vogel coached a LeBron and Anthony Davis-led squad to an NBA Championship.
But now, according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein, Vogel is seeing mounting pressure in wake of the team’s recent struggles and there is a growing belief his job could be in jeopardy if things don’t turn around soon.
@TheSteinLine reports in his latest newsletter that “there is also rising buzz in coaching circles about the pressure mounting on Frank Vogel given the Lakers’ worrisome 10-10 start … given L.A.’s lack of flexibility to make roster changes.”
https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1464268922195087362
After being dropped in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, the Lakers made a number of huge roster changes, which included bringing in Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and a number of guys from their title run a few years ago.
Unfortunately, the Lakers have not lived up to the hype this season, as they stand at 9th in the West with a 10-10 record overall.
“They look bad right now,” said former ESPN analyst Paul Pierce. “I don’t know if they can stay healthy… I don’t think they have a chance. The way they playing without LeBron at his age. LeBron can’t play 40 minutes like he can and get them through the regular season. If you’re asking him to continue to do that and get to the playoffs and carry them, I do not know if that’s possible all the way through. This team as constructed cannot win a championship.”
Needless to say, there is a lot of doubt that this Lakers team can make a deep run this season, especially with the way the Warriors and Jazz are playing.
If things get bad enough, you can expect the team to make some serious changes to the coaching bench and to the roster.
We’ll see soon enough how they look when the dust settles…
