The Los Angeles Lakers ended their season on a rare high note, beating the Nuggets in the season finale despite being without any of their stars, as Austin Reaves had a 31-point triple-double in the comeback win in overtime.
That result will be the final one of the Frank Vogel tenure in Los Angeles, as the final buzzer had barely sounded when Adrian Wojnarowski announced he was being fired, with the team officially telling him that news on Monday — although, it certainly seems the cat is out of the bag a bit early.
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
Besides the funny wording of “a decision that’s expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday,” in a tweet announcing that news very publicly to millions of people, it’s the expected end to a dismal season for the Lakers. Vogel has been on the hot seat throughout and very nearly was fired in the middle of the year. Once the Lakers failed to even reach the play-in, the writing was on the wall and there are already rumors about potential replacements, including Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers, who each are coaching playoff teams currently.
The Lakers, despite their troubles, figure to be an intriguing job given the talent there, but they’ll need to be willing to pay like a top job this time around to get their preferred candidate after hiring Vogel when Ty Lue passed on the job. Still, Vogel’s tenure featured a championship in 2020, so while the end was rather disastrous, he accomplished what he was brought to do in L.A. Hiring a coach is now the first thing on the to-do list this offseason, but far from the last, as major roster changes are needed to provide the next coach with a chance of success.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/lakers-fire-frank-vogel/
