Los Angeles Lakers: Frank Vogel, Jason Kidd pairing a failure in waiting

The Los Angeles Lakers hiring of Frank Vogel is very similar to what happened with LeBron James during his last tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Los Angeles Lakers head coaching saga has finally come to an end. After weeks of interviews and rumors, the Lakers have settled on Frank Vogel to become the 27th head coach in Lakers‘ franchise history. The road to this decision, however, has been a windy one.

Early on, the Lakers interviewed a number of candidates. Tyronn Lue, Monty Williams, Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd were talked to. Lue and Williams emerged as the favorites. After Williams decided to join the Phoenix Suns, all signs pointed to Lue taking over.

Lue was expected to be the next head coach, with the two sides working toward a contract. Lue had plenty of fans, as Phil Jackson and Magic Johnson both endorsed him becoming the next head coach. Former player, Kevin Love, also said he would like to see Lue take over the Lakers’ head coaching job.

Things got so serious, there were reports about who would be on Lue’s staff. Vogel was mentioned, as Lue and LeBron James also reportedly wanted Tom Thibodeau to be on the staff.

At this point, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Lue would be the team’s head coach, but things fell apart shortly after. The Lakers low-balled Lue, giving him only a three-year offer instead of the five-year one he was seeking. In addition, the team was also pushing Kidd on him as an assistant.

As a result, a deal never got done and Vogel was signed as the team’s next coach. All of the demands that the organization that Lue did not want to accept, Vogel did.

Vogel agreed to a three-year deal, which coincides with the contract of James. In addition, Kidd will be a prominent member of the coaching staff.

It is understandable why Lue would not agree to those terms. Lue is a championship winning coach, so being offered only a three-year deal to coincide with James is insulting. Less accomplished coaches, such as David Fizdale with the New York Knicks, Williams with the Suns and even former Lakers head coach Luke Walton with the Sacramento Kings received five years.

In addition to the low-ball offer, despite the high per year total, being told who will be on your staff is insulting as well.

Yes, Walton had some shortcomings on his staff, not hiring enough experienced assistants to be around him. During his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lue had experienced assistants, and based on the Thibodeau reports, he is willing to have experienced assistants next to him, so that wouldn’t have been a problem.

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So what was the true reason that Lue isn’t the head coach for the Lakers? It is because this is a show he has seen, and been the beneficiary of, before.

How things have transpired with the Lakers is similar to how things went in Cleveland and how Lue got his first head coaching job. Lue was hired as an associate head coach on David Blatt’s staff. Blatt had just led the Lakers to the NBA Finals, but his seat was hot. Halfway through the season, that seat became scorching and Blatt was relieved of his duties.

Blatt was hired with the intention to develop a young Cavaliers team that had just won the lottery for the third time and was going to bring in Andrew Wiggins. Instead, James decided to come back home, changing the organization’s plans. Sound familiar, Lakers and Luke Walton fans?

The Cavaliers went on to win the NBA Championship in 2016 after Lue took over. Lue was someone James liked and the two found a lot of success in Cleveland. Now, with James in Los Angeles, the same thing looks to be playing out.

Vogel agreed to become the Lakers coach, but his contract only runs alongside James’ deal, which is essentially how Lue’s tenure in Cleveland went. Lue was brought on in a high ranking spot on Blatt’s staff, a similar position Kidd is now taking over on Vogel’s staff.

That relationship will be one to keep an eye on immediately. We have seen Kidd show his true colors and motives previously. He seemed to openly campaign for Walton’s job while he was still employed by the Lakers, and he also attempted power moves with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks during previous stops.

There is already a division within the organization based on the people now on the coaching staff, according to Frank Isola of The Athletic.

In Cleveland, James won the power struggle, as the person he preferred in Lue became head coach and Blatt was fired. Will the same happen in Los Angeles? It certainly doesn’t seem that way, as Magic Johnson was his biggest ally, and Johnson is no longer with the organization in an official capacity.

Knowing how this play goes, Lue was smart to turn down the Lakers’ offer and demands. At the moment he would have put pen to paper, his seat would have been hot. Instead, that hot seat is now being sat on by Vogel, with Kidd waiting in the wings should things become rocky.

Based on his previous actions, Kidd is probably already angling for the Lakers’ head coaching job as we speak.