As Frank Vogel prepares for his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he could also be a Coach of the Year candidate.
When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Frank Vogel to become their new head coach, many cringed. Vogel signed to a multi-year contract with the team on May 13, 2019.
The whole world seems to be writing off Frank Vogel. Don’t know why. You hear it everywhere from statements like “He was their last option for the position”, or “It’s only a matter of time before Jason Kidd takes over”. The truth is Vogel can coach and has had success doing so.
People are too caught up in him not being a high profile name, or a man who doesn’t necessarily have the appeal that a Doc Rivers or Brad Stevens.
He strives on the defensive end. From 2012-14 his Indiana Pacers had the second best defense in the league. In 2012-13 they allowed 90.7 points, and the following year they gave up 92.3 points.
People seem to forget about those Vogel-led Pacers, who made the Eastern Conference Finals in consecutive seasons. Those two teams lost to a great Miami Heat team led by LeBron James in six and seven games respectively.
Those Pacers teams were led by Paul George, David West, and Lance Stephenson. George was becoming a great player in his own right, but the Pacers simply overachieved. They weren’t expected to contend before it happened. That’s why Vogel must get credit for his coaching job with the Pacers.
Overall with the Pacers he went 250-181. He led them to five playoff appearances in six seasons. Vogel also won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month four times.
The last few years have been rocky for Vogel but it was understandable. After success with the Indiana Pacers, he went on to coach a mediocre Orlando Magic team that went 54-110 in two seasons (2016-18).
The team was not ready to compete, as they had a lot of young players who weren’t ready. Yes, the Magic made the playoffs this past season with a 42-40 record with a similar squad. But the truth is that Nikola Vucevic had a career-year, and players like Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross had their best seasons in their careers so far. Another thing to keep in mind is that the Magic were only three games above 10th seeded Miami.
Everything won’t be pretty for Frank Vogel this season. Everything in LA is under microscope, there will be some awkward moments, some moments where he will be questioned by not just the media, but possibly his own guys. But at the end of the day, the result will be success.
This Lakers team is the most talented he has ever had and it’s not remotely close. James has a sense of respect for a coach that pushed his teams to the limit in consecutive seasons. Anthony Davis is a once in a generation talent at power forward. DeMarcus Cousins and Kyle Kuzma are excellent third and fourth options.
Not only does the team have incredible talent, they have a top-tier coaching staff to help coach Vogel. Jason Kidd, Lionel Hollins, Miles Simon, Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy, and Quinton Crawford will do a hell of a job to compliment Vogel.
If this team can win 50-55 games and get a Top-4 seed in a loaded Western Conference, he will be a finalist for the Coach of the Year award. The Lakers only won 37 games last season. An improvement of that margin would have to count for something even if they have more talent this time around.