Lakers coach Frank Vogel doesn't deserve to be fired
Thu, Jan 20, 2022
NBA News (AP)
AP Sports NBA Writer
When Lakers coach Frank Vogel entered the press conference before Wednesday's game, everyone fell silent. Multiple reports surfacedTuesday that Vogel's job was on the line, and everyone knew what topic would dominate the session.
"Hello everyone," Vogel said, flashing his typical smile. He made eye contact with the different reportersin the room, his typical way of acknowledgingeveryone'shumanity.
He was then largely stripped of his.
Vogel had tofield seven questions related to his job security. Imagine knowing your job was on the line and then having to publicly speak about how that feels. And imagine having to do it before a game when you're battling for your coaching life, with your every move being scrutinized.
Skip Bayless reacts to the Lakers' loss to the Pacers and explains why he "would not be surprised if Vogel does not survive the road trip."Vogel tried to downplay the situation.
"I don't feel like I'm under siege," he said. "It's not hard to do my job. I'm very focused on the task at hand. I've always been that way."
Except he was under siege -- and he had been for a while. The Lakers made that abundantlyclear when he only got a one-year contract extension this offseason - even though he led theteam to a championship two seasons ago. The team's brass only trusted him with an ephemeral arrangement, revealing their preexisting undercurrent of skepticism.
Now that the Lakers are struggling, he's the perfect scapegoat. A team with championship expectations and four future Hall of Famers is one game below .500. Somebody's got to take the fall.
The death blow for Vogel seemed primed to come after the Lakers' 111-104 loss to the Pacers, who are 13th in the East with a record of 16-29. This was bad. And it was on the heels of him already being on extremely tenuous ground.
According to The Athletic, Vogel escaped with his job by the skin of his teeth after the team's embarrassing 37-point loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday. He then bought himself a microscopically small lifeline with a win over the Utah Jazz on Monday. It seemed ready to snap late Wednesday evening.
But Vogel will travel with the team to Orlando on Friday, according to Yahoo! Sports. He's safe. For now.
The real question is: How is this all fair?
The Lakers stripped Vogel of his superpower when they traded away their defensive core for Russell Westbrook in the offseason. Vogel is defensive-minded. When they won the title, they were third in the league in defensive rating. Last season, they were first.
Now, without Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kyle Kuzma, the Lakers are 18th in the league in defense. The Lakers' front office wanted to gamble on the team's offense carrying them to the top. Only thing is, they're 24th in that category despite having LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook on their roster. (Davis missed his 15th consecutive game Wednesday because of an MCL strain in his left knee.)
How is any of this Vogel's fault?
The speed at which he has gone from being heralded as a success to being cast as a scapegoat is dizzying.
Yaron Weitzman gives five reasons why Frank Vogel isn't to blame for the Lakers' 22-23 record.Let's not forget Vogel was the stabilizing force for the Lakers during the unbridledchaos of 2020, a season that included Kobe Bryant's death, the emergence and proliferation of a global pandemic, the shutdown of the season and its resumption in an isolated and lonely bubble without fans.
During that time, Vogel was celebrated.
"He's been great," James said in September 2020. "He's been unbelievable. It's been a crazy obstacle course for our franchise this whole year. He's been able to manage it the whole time."
A short 15 months later, James now had to come to Vogel's defense.
"Coaching staff has been great," James said Wednesday after finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
When pressed further about Vogel's job security, he bristled.
"If you got something to ask me besides trying to s--- on somebody, I'll answer those," he said.
This situation isn't surprising. Someone has to be blamed for the Lakers' failings this season. They're currently in eighth place in the Western Conference, just a half-game ahead of the ninth-place Clippers. Instead of fighting for their 18th championship, they could be fighting to make the playoffs.
It's unacceptable for a franchise that finally reached the pinnacle of the league after missing the playoffs six straight seasons. They're trending in the wrong direction.
Russell Westbrook had another bad game in the Lakers' loss to Indiana, finishing with 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting.Skip Bayless says Westbrook's struggles are sinking the Lakers.After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season amid injuries to Davis and James, they're now in danger of not even making it that far. Things have gotten so bad that several of their games were switched off of national broadcasts.
Someone needs to be put on the chopping block, and it's not going to be one of the biggest names in the league. Instead, it's going to be the unassuming guy on the bench.
"It's really not up to me whether it's fair or not," Vogel said. "It comes with the territory, comes with being the Lakers coach. We have high expectations, this fan base really cares. It's a big market, and I wouldn't want it any other way, to be honest with you."
Vogel said all the right things. Every coach knows job insecurity comes with the gig when they sign their multi-million dollar contract.But it's still painful to watch.
Before the Lakers played the Pacers, Vogel said he received supportive texts and phone calls from colleagues. He said his recent interactions with the front office were the same as they've always been.
But despite his attempts to downplay the turmoil, there's a sense of impending doom.
If Vogel were going to go out Wednesday, he wanted to do it his way. He benched Westbrook, who is earning 44.2 million this season, for the final 3 minutes and 52 seconds of crunch time with the Lakers down 101-94. When questioned about it after the game, Vogel said he went with the players he thought could win. Westbrook left the arena without speaking to reporters.
Nick Wright joins Colin Cowherd to answer whether the Lakers should replace Frank Vogel on the bench.But James spoke for him, using a rhetorical question to point out the obvious.
"Would you think that would bother Russ not being in a late game?" he asked. "There's your answer."
At least that was the biggest drama of the evening.
Vogel survived another day. But unless there are some major changes, the inevitable will be hovering over him like a shadow, constantly nipping at his heels.
If the Lakers keep sinking, someone's going to be sacrificed.
And if it comes down to that, it will be him.
Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for AP Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.
