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Why the Los Angeles Lakers should absolutely not fire Frank Vogel

By Jason Reed

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the second half of the NBA preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on October 06, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 117-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the second half of the NBA preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on October 06, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Lakers 117-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers /

2. The Los Angeles Lakers have no better alternative to Frank Vogel!

I have one question for any fan that wants Frank Vogel to be fired. Who does the team bring in to replace him this season? If you do not have an answer to that question then you probably can’t ask for the team to fire him. It is only worth firing a coach if there is a better option to replace him and there is not a better option.

Vogel gets that benefit of the doubt because he just won a championship 13 months ago with this team by orchestrating the rotation in the playoffs perfectly. He pulled all the right strings in the Orlando bubble and people have already forgotten. This isn’t Luke Walton where he has not accomplished anything. This is an accomplished coach and if you are going to fire him there better be a better replacement.

The counterargument to this point is to fire Frank Vogel and simply elevate David Fizdale to interim head coach for the rest of the season. While Fizdale is a former head coach and is easy to talk yourself into, the truth of the matter is that he won’t be much better than Vogel.

First of all, Fizdale is already on the staff that is helping determine the rotations that Laker fans are complaining about. Fizdale has a say in what the team is doing and firing Vogel and elevating him is not going to drastically change anything, if at all.

Second, Fizadale’s track record is not good. He has not been a good head coach so why should we expect him to take over a job midseason and suddenly be different from the rest of his career? Fizdale has four seasons as a head coach under his belt. He made the playoffs once and was fired during two of those seasons. His career record as head coach is 71-134.

Sure, he coached a bad Knicks team but he didn’t do anything with his previous chance with the Memphis Grizzlies. He took over the 2016-17 Grizzlies and there was no improvement. They were one game better than the year before and lost in the first round of the playoffs, just like the year before. He was then fired only 19 games into the following season after a 7-12 start.

Fizdale is not any better than Vogel and there are not many other options out there. If you think a 76-year-old Phil Jackson is going to take over a team midseason after not coaching for a decade then that just shows how bleak the market is.

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