Los Angeles Lakers hire Frank Vogel to be next head coach

It looks like the Los Angeles Lakers have filled their head coaching spot, as the team and Frank Vogel reportedly agreed to a deal.

The Los Angeles Lakers head coaching search has dominated headlines in recent weeks. After parting ways with Luke Walton, who quickly agreed to a deal to become the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers got to work finding his replacement.

At first, it looked like Tyronn Lue was going to become their next head coach. Lue has Lakers’ connections, as he coached LeBron James during his last stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers and played during his career with the Lakers.

It was also reported that Lue was likely to become the next head coach after Monty Williams decided to join the Phoenix Suns as their head coach. Lue was endorsed by some Lakers legends, Magic Johnson and Phil Jackson, but things quickly fell apart on that front.

Lue felt disrespected by some of the things the Lakers were asking him to do. They wanted him to have specific people on his coaching staff, namely Jason Kidd. In addition, Lue was only offered a three-year deal, which lines up with the contract of LeBron James.

That was something Lue didn’t like and he decided to no longer pursue the job.

The Lakers then interviewed some more candidates, and it looks like they finally found a man for the job.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers next head coach will be Frank Vogel. Vogel has previously coached the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.

Given the disaster that the Lue pursuit turned into, this is actually a solid get for Los Angeles. Vogel is an excellent defensive coach and led the Pacers to the playoffs in five of his six years as head coach. Things didn’t go as well with Orlando, as he was fired after two seasons, compiling a record of 54-110.

A big reason for Vogel becoming head coach seems to be that he was willing to accept the terms that Lue was not. The three-year contract and Kidd being on the staff are two things that Vogel has accepted.

While it took longer than most people anticipated, the Lakers finally have a head coach in place and can move forward with their offseason to-do list. Not having a president of basketball operations in place is still odd, but at least one of the positions that needed filling has been filled.