On the first day of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2022 offseason, they made a move that just about everyone could’ve called with Braille, to borrow a phrase from Chick Hearn, the team’s late great play-by-play man.
Head coach Frank Vogel was dismissed after three seasons with the team.
Vogel being fired was something that had been rumored for months, especially once it became clear that the Lakers would not be contending for a title, and that the season would be nothing more than a test of survival.
The news was first leaked on Sunday night at the conclusion of the Lakers’ final game versus the Denver Nuggets, a thrilling come-from-behind win in overtime.
Many instantly bemoaned the fact that Vogel’s firing had been leaked to the media before the team had a chance to inform him in person.
It is not clear who in the Lakers’ organization leaked the news, but whoever did it made a poor decision, in more than one way.
The team owed it to Vogel, who is a fine coach and a positive, classy human being, to tell him face-to-face that he was being dismissed, rather than have him hear it from the media.
After the Nuggets game, a reporter told him about the leak, and Vogel said he hadn’t heard anything yet, then added that he would focus on the team’s victory and what his players did in earning it.
Amidst all the problems the team had this season, it’s easy to forget that he coached it to the NBA championship just 18 months ago.
The Lakers have historically prided themselves on being a class organization that kept things close to the vest and was respectful to everyone who helped them succeed, from their biggest superstar to even its working-poor employees.
The way they handled Vogel’s firing was a departure from that method of operation.
Even if he were some lowly, newbie coach, they still owed it to him to not be passive-aggressive about his dismissal.
If nothing else, it makes the organization look bad, and perhaps some may almost feel that someone there perhaps wanted to disrespect Vogel.
In all, it appears that L.A. general manager Rob Pelinka and crew will take their time in finding a replacement for Vogel.
Via ESPN:
“Pelinka doesn’t plan to replace Vogel immediately, and he said he hasn’t even assembled a list of potential candidates. The GM said it ‘would be great’ to have a coach in place before the draft in June, but that the Lakers’ search will be ‘thorough and methodical.””
Finding a replacement for Vogel will be the first domino to fall in what will be the team’s most important offseason in recent memory.