1. The replacement options for the Los Angeles Lakers are even worse!
I just cannot fathom the idea that the Los Angeles Lakers want to potentially fire Frank Vogel just to promote one of his assistant coaches. That is what the team is going to do if they fire him midseason because they are obviously not going to make a new coaching hire halfway through the season.
If Frank Vogel is fired then the most likely replacement is David Fizdale. If not Fizdale, then Phil Handy is a possibility. There are two issues with thinking that these two can save the issue in Los Angeles.
First is that an assistant is typically just an extension of the head coach. Fizdale and Handy are ON THIS COACHING STAFF that is underwhelming! Sure, they might do things slightly different than Vogel, but pretending like this would completely change things is just silly.
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The second problem is that both of those options are bad options. Some Laker fans are clamoring for Fizdale. Why? The dude has been a horrible head coach everywhere he has gone. He has gotten two different opportunities and was fired into his second season both times. He has a career head coaching record of 71-134.
Heck, we have proof of this not working THIS SEASON! Fizdale took over as the head coach for six games while Frank Vogel was in the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. The Lakers went 1-5 in those six games with the only win coming against the Houston Rockets. Impressive.
Phil Handy has plenty of years of experience as an assistant but none as a head coach. Is a coach with no prior experience going to turn this around and lead them to a title this season? No. Plus, if Handy was such a good assistant, he probably would have gotten a coaching job after a decade in the league. Just saying.