Of the many issues the 21-22 Lakers had, Frank Vogel was not one of them.
You know that massive earthquake that decimated Los Angeles in the movie 2012? The one where Cusack saves his family in an epic car escape scene? That is basically the Lakers organization right now. Oddsmakers had them in the two slot to win the championship, with Brooklyn being at the top...the Lakers proceeded to win 33 games and lose 49. To call this season a disappointment would be an understatement.
Vogel Gets the Axe
VP of B-Ball Operations and GM, Rob Pelinka, thought the best move was to fire Head Coach Frank Vogel seconds after the last game finished. Vogel coached the Lakers to a championship in his first year at the helm after LeBron wanted HC Luke Walton gone.
Making Vogel the fall-guy is a bullshit move. There were other issues that plagued this team, such as several key injuries. The biggest issue of all though, was Pelinka's roster-building skills. Adding one of the most ball-dominant guards of all time to a roster with one of the most ball-dominant forwards of all time. Big brain move brah... No one has even put Westbrook and LBJ together in NBA2K. The console would spit the game out.
Pelinka the Problem?
Most recently, Pelinka said the next coach would be involved in the roster-building process. Why wasn't Vogel involved in that before?! Clearly the players Pelinka selected did not align with Vogel's defensive coaching style. Frank turned Indiana into a legit Eastern Conference contender with a tough-as-nails defensive mindset. The Lake Show was one of the worst teams in defensive rating this season; just under 113. "How do I fix this? Ah, let's go fire that guy!" Pelinka traded away three very good role players from a championship team in Kuzma, KCP, and Caruso, all three of whom happen to play DEFENSE. Puzzling.
What doesn't sit right with me is that Pelinka created this mess via bad decisions, while Vogel did his best to guide his players/staff through it. His reward is the good ol' snip snip. Maybe the changes should have been made elsewhere in the organization? Or maybe Cusack should replace Pelinka. Just my two cents.