It’s no secret that this season hasn’t gone as planned for the Los Angeles Lakers as they came into the year with championship expectations and are now on the verge of missing the Play-In Tournament altogether.
There are a number of factors that have led to the Lakers being at this point, whether it be players getting injured or underperforming, the Russell Westbrook trade not working out, etc.
Things are setting up for Frank Vogel to take a lot of the blame though as he has seemingly been on the hot seat all season.
While not everything is his fault, Vogel has not been able to get this team to come together and get enough wins to make the playoffs as he did in his first two seasons. Because of that, Jake Fisher of Bleacher Report is reporting that he and the organization are still on track to part ways at the end of the season:
Now, as the finish line for this tumultuous 2021-22 campaign mercifully arrives, the Lakers are still expected to part ways with embattled play-caller Frank Vogel, sources told B/R, and the anticipated vacancy on Los Angeles’ bench has produced no shortage of potential candidates linked to fill the position.
While this would be unfortunate considering Vogel brought the Lakers their 17th championship less than two years ago, it seems to be in the best interest of both parties after how this season has gone.
As far as who will be replacing Vogel, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is a name that keeps coming up:
As Marc Stein first reported, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is perhaps most often mentioned by league figures as a possible Vogel replacement. For now, Snyder remains entrenched in Utah and told Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune: “My focus is on our guys and our team. And as I said, addressing hypotheticals in these types of questions in any form I feel like is disrespectful.”
Yet that hasn’t dispelled the rumblings that Snyder, a Lakers assistant from 2011-12, may be inclined to step away from the Jazz following this season, especially as Utah has taken its own tumble down the Western Conference standings. The Jazz have dropped six of their last seven games. And once again, the microscope among league personnel has shifted back onto the long-term prospects of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s partnership.
There is, however, a healthy dose of skepticism around the NBA that Snyder would have interest in a hypothetical Lakers marriage. Snyder would appear to be just as prominent a candidate to one day succeed Popovich in San Antonio, even if Popovich endures on the Spurs’ sideline for the 2022-23 season.
Snyder has previously been an assistant with the Lakers and reports have indicated that they are looking for someone with past head coaching experience and also someone that has been in the organization before.
In addition to Snyder, Steve Clifford and Mike Brown are two other coaches that could fit that criterion. The Lakers may also reportedly have interest in Doc Rivers, although he has not previously held a position in the organization.
Once the season ends and Vogel is officially let go, the Lakers will have plenty of time to conduct a thorough coaching search considering they won’t be playing in the playoffs.
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