Frank Vogel coached his last game with the Los Angeles Lakers, a decision that is expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday, sources told ESPN.
The Lakers’ search for his replacement is expected to be wide and drawn out, with no clear favorite, sources said.
The Lakers wrapped up a disappointing 33-49 season on Sunday with a 146-141 overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets, eliminated from play-in tournament contention in the final week of the season.
Vogel, who signed an original three-year contract in 2019 and received a one-year extension through 2022-23 last offseason, said after Sunday’s game that he had not been told anything about his future with the team.
“I haven’t been told s— and I’m going to enjoy tonight’s game, celebrate what these young guys did in terms of making a splash, coming back to this game and getting the win, and we’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.” he told reporters during his postgame media availability.
Vogel had to deal with injuries to stars like Lebron James Y Anthony Davis and a challenging roster rebuild, which included limited shooters and athletes.
The Lakers finished the season in the bottom 10 in offensive and defensive efficiency, ranking 21st in defensive rating after finishing first in 2020-2021 and third in 2019-2020.
The Lakers lost 18 of 24 games after the All-Star break, which was worse than just the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers.
Continuity was a constant challenge for Vogel and the Lakers this season. Los Angeles was the only team that didn’t have a single five-player roster playing 100 minutes together, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. Despite starting the season with high expectations, the Lakers could only have James, Davis and Russell Westbrook on the court for 21 games. They were 11-10 in those games.
Vogel led the Lakers to an NBA championship in his first season in 2019-20, and kept the franchise as one of the league’s elite defensive teams during his first two seasons in Los Angeles. He is expected to be a candidate in future head coaching cycles in other parts of the league.
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Sources: Frank Vogel will step down as Lakers coach