Editors note: According to multiple reports from Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers have officially relieved Frank Vogel of his head coaching duties as of Monday morning, Pacific time.
The Lakers will reportedly relieve Frank Vogel of his head coaching duties on Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Frank Vogel has coached his final game for the Lakers, a decision that’s expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday, sources tell ESPN. Lakers’ search expected to be lengthy and expansive with no clear initial frontrunner.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2022
The happy feelings Vogel and the Lakers brought to LA after winning a championship in 2020 were quickly gone after the Lakers concluded a disappointing 33-49 season on Sunday with a 146-141 overtime win against the Nuggets. The Lakers were eliminated from the play-in tournament by the Suns last week,
According to Woj, the Lakers’ final decision is expected to be shared with Vogel as soon as Monday. During his postgame presser on Sunday, Vogel said he wasn’t told about his future with the Lakers.
“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,” Vogel said, per ESPN.
Most of the Lakers’ struggles can be attributed to porous defense, injuries, and the lack of continuity that comes with all the Lakers’ injuries throughout the season. Because of that lack of continuity, the Lakeshow finished the season in the bottom 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Their Big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook only played 21 games together, going 11-10 in those games.
Thank you, Coach. pic.twitter.com/8eb4Ia9ZqI
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 11, 2022
Additionally, the Lakers were the only team not to have a single five-person lineup play 100 minutes together, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Vogel built the Lakers into a defensive juggernaut through his first two seasons in LA, guiding the team to the best and third-best defensive rating in the 2020-2021 and 2019-2020 seasons, respectively.
Los Angeles lost 18 of 24 games following the All-Star break, worse than only the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, and Indiana Pacers.
