Stan Van Gundy: This is just ridiculous. He won a championship less than 2 years ago. The Lakers have had injuries and a roster that, to be kind, has some flaws. Firing Frank would just be an attempt to scapegoat Frank for the mistakes others have made.
More on Frank Vogel Hot Seat?
With the Lakers (22-22) now seventh in the West and the midway point of the season behind them, sources say the organization’s decision-makers are closely monitoring the key question of whether Vogel still has command of the locker room.
The coaching staff has been well aware that it faced significant pressure for months. Sources say that was made clear to the staff early on this season by Kurt Rambis, the former Laker and current director of basketball affairs who has become one of the most influential members of the organization since returning to the franchise in 2017.
Rambis then attended the Lakers’ pregame coaches meeting Monday at Crypto.com Arena for the first time this season, after previously only attending meetings virtually. Rambis advocated for the Lakers to use larger lineups with Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
According to people with knowledge of the situation, Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, and Kurt Rambis, the team’s senior basketball advisor, met with Vogel and assistant coach David Fizdale after last week’s loss to the Sacramento Kings to discuss ways to turn things around. It was the third time the group had met in recent days.
The Lakers then lost on Saturday to the Denver Nuggets by 37 points, their worst defeat of the season, putting more heat on Vogel. Rambis then attended the Lakers’ pregame coaches meeting Monday at Crypto.com Arena for the first time this season, after previously only attending meetings virtually. Rambis advocated for the Lakers to use larger lineups with Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
So much more was expected from this group, but that's the forecasters’ fault, not Vogel's. Change is certainly coming, as one league source insists, because “the Lakers are not a stay-the-course kind of team” when things are going bad. I just can’t see a decision from team owner Jeanie Buss, Pelinka and top advisers Kurt and Linda Rambis to oust Vogel, or any sort of forthcoming trade, raising the Lakers’ ceiling significantly.
The Lakers recently went 1-5 under acting coach David Fizdale while Vogel was stranded last month in the league's health and safety protocols, then won four in a row after Vogel returned to the bench. A loss at Sacramento and the Denver debacle soon followed, but recent results don't exactly support the notion making the rounds in league coaching circles that Vogel has lost all sway over a roster filled with outsize personalities.
Marc Stein: Can add I've heard the same as @Bill Oram and @Sam Amick: Frank Vogel's job is under serious threat ... ridiculous as it sounds to hold him accountable for an ill-fitting and aging roster, Anthony Davis' absence, etc. More on the Lakers to come from me: marcstein.Substack.com
Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel’s job is in serious jeopardy with the team seventh in the Western Conference through 44 games, sources told The Athletic. Vogel is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis and is at risk of being fired if progress doesn’t continue after Monday’s win over the Utah Jazz, sources said.
Vogel, whose job security had been questioned at times this season, faced speculation once again. "Not seeing the results wears on you," the coach admitted before Monday's matchup.
With the Los Angeles Lakers hovering above or below .500 for the first quarter of the season amid overlapping injuries and learning curves with a new roster, Lakers governor Jeanie Buss was asked how the organization would evaluate coach Frank Vogel in his third season. “Until we’re 100 percent healthy, I don’t think you can really make any judgment,” Buss told NBA.com at halftime of the Lakers-Celtics game on Tuesday at Staples Center.
Jovan Buha: When asked about his job security, Frank Vogel said he’s not worried and that he believes he has management’s support. He said he hasn’t spoken to Rob Pelinka about how the Lakers’ 12-12 affects his job status.
LeBron James said he and his teammates have to play better when asked about the scrutiny facing Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel. "I think criticism comes with the job, you know?" James said after practice on Monday. "Frank is a strong-minded guy. He has a great coaching staff. And we as his players have to do a better job of going out and producing on the floor. We're a team and an organization that don't mind some adversity, that don't mind people saying things about us, obviously, because it comes with the territory."
"We have a lot of guys on this team that have been bulletin-board material for quite a long time, so it don't quite bother us," James said. "Everything that we do stays in house when it comes to our preparation and how we prepare for our next opponent and how we prepare to get better. Frank doesn't care and we don't either about what people are saying."
If not, Rob Pelinka would have given Vogel more than a one-year extension in the offseason. He would have ensured that one of the league’s top defensive coaches still had elite defenders at his disposal, rather than gutting the league’s top defense to chase a third superstar. For his part, Vogel said the speculation and pressure are no different from what he experienced in his first two stops as a head coach in Indiana and Orlando. “I’ve been a coach for 10 years, I’ve seen it all,” Vogel said. “Is it more national? Yes, it’s more national. Is there a bigger fanbase in this market in L.A.? Yes, there is. But it’s been there for every head coach, and it’s something I’m not unfamiliar with.”
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.
There was much speculation in coaching circles over whether Pelinka, who is known to value flexibility and leverage in all dealings, would indeed extend Vogel’s contract. But the broadly held consensus was that no one could coach a LeBron-led team as a lame duck. The chatter wasn’t exactly dampened by the addition to L.A.’s staff of David Fizdale, who had developed a close relationship in Miami with James, nor by the arrival of accomplished veterans, fading superstars and the egos that accompany them.
Multiple sources told The Athletic that Vogel’s extension added only one year to his contract, securing him through 2022-23.
Magic president Jeff Weltman inherited an expensive and bad roster, limiting his options to shape it. He also inherited coach Frank Vogel, and maybe there’s something Weltman will do about that. Marc Stein of The New York Times in his newsletter: "Orlando’s ongoing malaise, especially after the promise of an unexpected 8-4 start, make it a widely held assumption in coaching circles that Vogel will be dismissed after the franchise’s sixth successive season out of the playoffs."
And now Vogel finds himself in a predicament coaches dread: on the hot seat, unsure if his team’s front office will retain him for next season. Vogel is in a precarious spot. Between Vogel’s first and second seasons, the Magic fired Rob Hennigan as the team’s general manager, dismissed many other key figures within the basketball operations department and hired Jeff Weltman as the president of basketball operations and John Hammond as the general manager.
As they have remained quiet, gossip has swirled for months within NBA circles about Vogel’s future. The speculation accelerated after the Magic followed a superb 8-4 start with an injury-fueled nine-game losing streak. The conjecture has always centered around an assumption that Weltman will want to pick his own coach rather than retain the coach he inherited. Then, with a new coach in place, Weltman ostensibly would undertake an incremental rebuild and reboot the failed effort that began under Hennigan.
Many executives and scouts throughout the NBA think the Magic’s roster has been flawed throughout Vogel’s tenure. In the months leading into Vogel’s first season, the Magic made two major failed moves. First, the team traded Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis for Serge Ibaka. Then it signed center Bismack Biyombo to a four-year deal worth $17 million per season.
Orlando could be making a coaching change, with former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse seen as the Magic’s No. 1 choice to replace Frank Vogel. After a 20-year career in which he was twice an All-Star, Stackhouse has coached Toronto’s G-League team and has close ties to Jeff Weltman, now running the Magic as president of basketball operations after being with the Raptors and seeing Stackhouse up close when he was an assistant coach.
Orlando could be making a coaching change, with former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse seen as the Magic’s No. 1 choice to replace Frank Vogel. After a 20-year career in which he was twice an All-Star, Stackhouse has coached Toronto’s G-League team and has close ties to Jeff Weltman, now running the Magic as president of basketball operations after being with the Raptors and seeing Stackhouse up close when he was an assistant coach.
As for Doc Rivers, he’s done one of his best coaching jobs by keeping a depleted roster in the Western Conference playoff race in the post-Chris Paul era. If Rivers is out he may return to television although his name will surface in Orlando and New York should those jobs become available.
Chris Mannix: If Larry Bird plans to announce the firing of Frank Vogel, Vogel is unaware of it, league sources told @TheVertical.
Jeff Zillgitt: With Vogel in the dark, and his coaching staff too, I've been told, an extension isn't a logical option. twitter.com/ChrisMannixYS/…
Scott Agness: As of 20 minutes ago, I’m told Frank Vogel is not in the building. Nate McMillan is, for what that’s worth.
Zach Lowe: Heard he was their preferred top target. Rockets search could get very interesting depending on Vogel's fate.
Coach Frank Vogel’s contract has expired now that the Pacers’ season has ended, league sources said, and president Larry Bird has left many around the league, including Vogel, with the belief that a coaching change could be coming soon. Vogel was paid approximately $2.5 million in the final year of his deal, league sources said. In a market devoid of many successful head-coaching candidates, Vogel could double that salary on his next job.
Danny Granger: Please @Pacers DO NOT fire Frank Vogel!!
Bird has scheduled his season-ending news conference for Thursday at 11 a.m. ET in Indianapolis, but so far hasn’t engaged Vogel in discussions about the coach’s future with the team, league sources said. Bird told Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star that he owed Vogel a decision soon while there were other head-coaching jobs available for him to pursue. Bird also said he needed to discuss Vogel’s future with owner Herb Simon.
Mitch Lawrence: After Larry Bird's criticisms on Frank Vogel, Pacer execs in player exit meetings: Next year we'll be going up-tempo more, scoring more, using fewer sets and playing more like Golden State. Can't see how this helps Vogel keep his job. Sounds like Kevin McHale on his way.
Sirius XM NBA: Danny Granger: "Frank Vogel is one of the greatest human beings." #Pacers
Adrian Wojnarowski: Larry Bird set his annual end-of-season news conference for Thursday. He hasn't informed Frank Vogel of future, sources tell @TheVertical.
Ian Begley: Correction: Pacers president Larry Bird is holding a press conference on Thursday at noon EST. We may get clarity on Frank Vogel's status.
Scott Agness: Frank Vogel is not scheduled to join Bird at tomorrow’s presser, but I’m told he was at the Fieldhouse Tuesday vigilantsports.com/2016/05/03/bus…
Vogel has the respect of his players but he can also play hardball. He is the perfect guy when it comes to being a face of the franchise, appearing at golf outings, meeting with season-ticket holders, and in accommodating various requests around the building. But basketball is business. The players and coaches know that. Vogel is the fourth-longest tenured head coach in The Association (six seasons) behind Gregg Popovich (20), Rick Carlisle and Erik Spoelstra (eight). There’s something to be said for continuity, especially in a league when leadership has a short leash on its coaches.
A source close to Frank Vogel admitted there could be intrigue in coaching the Knicks as his family and relatives come to all the Garden games.
The 42-year-old Vogel, a graduate of Wildwood (N.J.) High School, has a 250-181 record with the Pacers in six seasons, but Bird never has seemed a big fan. Vogel’s job was said to be in jeopardy in past years. It’s believed Bird could prefer a former player as his next coach and his former Celtics teammate Kevin McHale, fired by Houston early in the season, is on the market.
He doesn’t know when, either. Bird said he will make the decision after meeting by conference call with Pacers owner Herb Simon, but he said no call has been arranged. “He’s busy, so it could be a week or it could be tomorrow. What I don’t want to do is leave Frank hanging – there’s other jobs out there he could get,” Bird said early Monday evening.
Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said Monday he hasn’t decided whether to bring back coach Frank Vogel for a seventh season, telling IndyStar: “It’s no secret – I want us to score more points.”
What Bird has to decide, he says, is the best way to achieve more offense in a league headed in that direction: Change the roster, change the coach, or change both. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Bird said.
Vogel’s job has been said to be in jeopardy in past years. He would seem a perfect fit if front-runner Kurt Rambis agrees to slide over as the offensive coordinator of the triangle. According to sources, Knicks owner James Dolan felt Vogel outcoached Mike Woodson during the Knicks’ seminal six-game playoff defeat to the Pacers in 2013. The Knicks carried a 54-28 record into the second-round series before being upset – the pivotal moment coming when Carmelo Anthony was blocked at the rim by Roy Hibbert late in the fourth quarter of Game 6.
What happens next, however, could be more destruction. The same wrecking ball that demolished Roy Hibbert’s time in Indianapolis last offseason could be aimed next for coach Frank Vogel. As Bird walked out of Air Canada Centre late Sunday night following the Pacers’ season-ending loss to the Toronto Raptors, I asked him if Vogel – widely believed to be in the final year of his contract – will be back next season. “Come on, man,” Bird told me, before walking off. “The game just ended.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: Indiana coach Frank Vogel's contract expires at season's end and so far there's been no discussion of a contract extension. Scott Agness: That means his extension on Oct. 8, 2014 just tacked on another year. But it was announced as a multi-year extensionScott Agness added,
Tim Bontemps: Heard tonight that Vogel may have been coaching for his job. Think he's a really good coach. Would be an odd move.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Sources: Indiana coach Frank Vogel's contract expires at season's end and so far there's been no discussion of a contract extension.
Tim Bontemps: Heard tonight that Vogel may have been coaching for his job. Think he's a really good coach. Would be an odd move. twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA…
