The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Frank Vogel as their new head coach per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The former Pacer and Magic coach will be the 5th head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers since Phil Jackson retired from the role in 2011. Formerly considered as an associate coach for Ty Lue’s staff, Vogel made a strong impression with the Lakers front office.
Vogel’s contract with the Lakers will be for three years, although the full terms have not been reported. The Lakers offered a three-year contract for Lue but he declined, preferring a five-year deal.
Frank Vogel will be replacing Luke Walton, who resigned from the job following a 37-45 record. During his three years with Los Angeles, Walton was unable to bring the team into the postseason despite increasing the win total from each year prior.
This will be Vogel’s third coaching job as he previously coached the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic. The Pacers made the conference finals in consecutive years in the 2013 and 2014 postseasons under his tenure.
Vogel had the support of his players when his contract was not renewed after the 2016 season.
His time with Orlando lasted two years where the team failed to eclipse the 30 win mark in consecutive years before ultimately being replaced by Steve Clifford.
Starting off as a video coordinator for the Celtics, Vogel was in between assistant coaching jobs with Boston and the 76ers. Vogel was a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers from 2005 to 2006, which is vital as any future coach must have Laker ties in his past (I’m kidding, relax). In 2007 he became an assistant for Indiana and became the interim head coach in 2011.
Frank Vogel is known for his defensive ability. His 2013 and 2014 Pacer teams both ranked 1st in defensive efficiency. During his time as the Pacers coach, the team was never worse than 12th in that statistic.
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