Lakers’ Owner Reveals the Real Reason Behind Hiring Frank Vogel as the Head Coach

The LA Lakers threw up a lot of doubts heading into this season. These can now be forgotten, considering the success they have had. However, they had opened the season with everyone being unsure of how the off-season would go. One major change was coach Luke Walton being fired and replaced with Frank Vogel.

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss spoke to The Athletic and revealed the thought process behind hiring Vogel. She also detailed other coaches they looked at before settling on Vogel. She said:

“Going through the coaching search, and identifying great candidates like Monty Williams, who the Phoenix Suns ended up hiring before we were through with our process. And I think he has proven to be a great head coach and, really, that showed in the bubble early on. Then, Juwan Howard, we met with him, Ty Lue, Frank Vogel, and really for what we were trying to do, Frank was the perfect fit.”

Lakers choice in head coach about to pay off?

The Lakers are four wins away from capturing one of the most impressive NBA titles of all time. While Anthony Davis and LeBron James have been given their due credit, it’s time the coach was also shown some appreciation. Frank Vogel has ensured that this team did not have an internal collapse, like the one seen with the Clippers. He has kept his players hungry and motivated to win the Finals.

Vogel has also proven to be a fantastic tactical fit. He is able to make changes on the fly and create personnel according to requirements. This was seen when he benched his centers for Markieff Morris to combat the Houston Rockets small-ball play. He has given veteran role-players like Rajon Rondo and Dwight Howard perfect spots on the roster, while also nurturing the growth of Alex Caruso.

Vogel also helped the team deal with the passing of Kobe Bryant. A lot has rested on Vogel’s shoulders in his first season. He has proven to Jeanie Buss that she made the right call by hiring him to lead them.