Frank Vogel Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Notes: LeBron, S. Johnson, Vogel

January 1st, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James started his second game of the season at center Friday night, and that could be the lineup tweak that helps the Lakers survive until Anthony Davis returns, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. James continued his recent hot streak with 43 points and 14 rebounds, and the added spacing created plenty of opportunities for his teammates.

“This could be something that makes the game easier for him,” coach Frank Vogel said. “He’s not wrestling so much and there’s more space for him to be a roller, there’s just a lot of positives to that. Can’t really get away with it with certain matchups on the other end and obviously when AD comes back he’s going to play a load at the five and then we can play this smaller lineup as well.”

The small-ball approach is familiar for point guard Russell Westbrook, who was with the Rockets when they adopted a center-less lineup two seasons ago. Vogel doesn’t want to make that type of commitment, saying the decision on when to use LeBron in the middle will depend on matchups.

“You play Houston, Christian Wood at center, that’s a clear, ‘Yeah, let’s put Bron at center.’ That’s an easy one,” Vogel explained. “Next game, Steven Adams, biggest, strongest guy in the league; let’s play Dwight (Howard) at center. That’s an easy one. These next few games in the middle, there’s gonna be a lot of in-between types of decisions that we have to make on a game-by-game basis.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

James marked his 37th birthday this week, but his performance suggests he still has a few good years left, notes Bill Oram of The Athletic. There are two considerations that are likely to delay LeBron’s retirement — he needs about two more seasons to threaten the career scoring record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and he’s two years away from getting the opportunity to play in the NBA at the same time as his son. “I’m on the other side of the hill,” James said, “so we’ll see where the game takes me. We’ll see where my body takes me and my mind. As long as my mind stays fresh and my body stays with that, I can play the game.”
Stanley Johnson got to live out his childhood dream of playing for the Lakers when they signed him to a hardship contract, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Now he has a chance to stick with the team for the rest of the season, likely filling an open roster spot once the expected Rajon Rondo trade is completed. “Stanley is huge in what we’re trying to do,” said assistant coach David Fizdale. “With his motor and with his defensive intensity and prowess, we can really use that right now.”
The Lakers’ poor performance during the five games while Vogel was in the health and safety protocols should boost his job security, Buha states in a separate story.

COVID-19 Updates: Vogel, Lue, Pelicans, Raptors, Pokusevski

December 31st, 2021 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

One Los Angeles team is getting its head coach out of the NBA’s health and safety protocols today, while the other has placed their coach in the protocols.

The Lakers got the good news, as Frank Vogel has cleared the protocols and will be back on the sidelines for the team on Friday night vs. Portland, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). David Fizdale will return to his role as Vogel’s lead assistant after serving as the acting head coach for the last 12 days.

Meanwhile, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has entered the protocols, according to an announcement from the team. Lue, the 10th head coach to be affected by the protocols this month, will be replaced in the short term by assistant Brian Shaw.

Here are more protocol-related updates from across the NBA:

The Pelicans got Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Naji Marshall, and Jose Alvarado back at practice today following their respective stints in the COVID-19 protocols, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. New Orleans isn’t entirely out of the woods though — center Jonas Valanciunas has entered the protocols, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), Raptors rookie Justin Champagnie has exited the protocols, leaving Isaac Bonga as the only player from the team’s standard roster still affected. However, one of Toronto’s replacement players – D.J. Wilson – has now entered the protocols, Murphy notes.
Thunder forward Aleksej Pokusevski is no longer in the protocols and will be available for Friday’s contest vs. the Knicks, says Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

Frank Vogel, Kent Bazemore Placed Into Protocols

December 19th, 2021 at 10:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, along with Kent Bazemore, tweets Bill Oram of The Athletic. Assistant David Fizdale will take over Vogel’s duties until he can return.

L.A. now has eight players either in the protocols or sidelined by injuries, but the team still has enough for tonight’s game in Chicago, Oram adds (Twitter link). Trevor Ariza will suit up, but the Lakers don’t believe he’s ready to make his season debut after ankle surgery, so they will only have nine players available.

Vogel is the third head coach in the protocols, joining the Pacers’ Rick Carlisle and the Kings’ Alvin Gentry.

Pacific Notes: Vogel, LeBron, Lue, Warriors, Iguodala

December 8th, 2021 at 9:43am CST by Rory Maher

Lakers coach Frank Vogel has faced increased scrutiny recently, but owner/governor Jeanie Buss said she’s going to reserve judgment until the team is completely healthy, according to Mark Medina of NBA.com.

“Until we’re 100% healthy, I don’t think you can really make any judgment,” Buss told NBA.com at halftime of the Lakers-Celtics game on Tuesday. The Lakers won the game, 117-102, to move to 13-12 on the season.

Buss seemed a bit perturbed by the question, but said the Lakers are connected as an organization, noting that Vogel attended a season-ticket holder event Monday with Buss.

“We’re as connected as any organization can be,” Buss said. “I really don’t know what you’re looking for me to say. I would say until we’re 100 percent healthy, I won’t make any judgments about anything.”

The Lakers have dealt with several injuries this season; LeBron James has missed 12 games (various reasons), Talen Horton-Tucker was sidelined for 13 games after thumb surgery, and Trevor Ariza (ankle) and Kendrick Nunn (knee) have yet to suit up this season.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

LeBron James would still love to play in the NBA with his son Bronny, writes Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group. Bronny is a 17-year-old junior for Sierra Canyon High School.
Not many things excite Clippers coach Tyronn Lue during games, but perfectly executed plays are among them, Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group relays. Swanson notes that Lue prefers to stay impassive on the sidelines for strategic reasons.
With the returns of Klay Thompson and James Wiseman on the horizon, Warriors coach Steve Kerr will face challenging, yet desirable choices, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. The Warriors are tied with the Suns for the best record in the league at 20-4, and their depth has been a major strength.
Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala, who has missed the last 10 games with knee swelling, could return Wednesday against the Trail Blazers. Kerr said it’s a “possibility,” per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Slater also notes that rookies Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody will play a couple games in the G League before returning for the team’s five-game road trip, which starts Saturday.

Pacific Notes: Vogel, Lakers, Fox, Kings, Wiseman, Klay

December 7th, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Monday about the criticism Lakers coach Frank Vogel has received this season and the job he has done, LeBron James didn’t exactly provide a full-throated endorsement for Vogel, but suggested that he and his teammates – not the head coach – bear responsibility for the team’s up-and-down start, as Bill Oram of The Athletic and Dave McMenamin of ESPN relay.

“I think criticism comes with the job, you know?” James said. “Frank is a strong-minded guy. He has a great coaching staff. And we as his players have to do a better job of going out and producing on the floor.”

Vogel is less than two years removed from taking the Lakers to a title in his first season on the job, but the club had a disappointing first-round exit last season and is just 12-12 so far this year. Although Vogel signed a contract extension during the offseason, that deal tacked just one year onto his current contract, so he’s only locked up through 2022/23. Still, he said he’s not concerned about facing increased scrutiny.

“There’s going to be criticism with this job,” Vogel said, per McMenamin. “It’s something we’re all accustomed to. And I’ve been a coach for 10 years, I’ve seen it all. Is it more national? Yes, it’s more national. Is there a bigger fanbase in this market in L.A.? Yes, there is. But it’s been there for every head coach, and it’s something I’m not unfamiliar with. So it just comes with the job.”

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Executives around the league think that if the Kings make a big move to shake up their roster, De’Aaron Fox might be at the center of it, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. General manager Monte McNair has drafted Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell since taking the reins of the front office in 2020, while Fox was selected by the previous regime.
The Warriors‘ public messaging about James Wiseman‘s recovery timeline following meniscus surgery has been a little inconsistent, but it has become increasingly clear that he won’t return until sometime in the new year, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, who notes that Wiseman’s timeline has been similar to that of Jaren Jackson Jr. last year — the Grizzlies’ big man missed about eight-and-a-half months after undergoing meniscus surgery.
Klay Thompson won’t accompany the Warriors on the team’s five-game road trip that begins on Saturday in Philadelphia, head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday (Twitter link via Slater). Golden State’s home games on Dec. 20 and Dec. 23 have been cited as possible return dates for Thompson.

Los Angeles Notes: Vogel, Davis, LeBron, Ibaka

December 1st, 2021 at 7:53pm CST by Rory Maher

Amidst speculation about his job security, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel lit a fire under his team on Tuesday, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic.

The Lakers trailed by nine at half, but dominated the second half 67-33 after Vogel gave a fiery halftime speech, leading to the team’s largest margin of victory of the season, a 117-92 win over the Kings. Vogel said the speech came out of necessity.

“Every now and then the coach has to light a fire under his team,” Vogel said. “And today was one of those games.”

Dwight Howard said his coach told the team that its effort wasn’t good enough.

“His whole point was, ‘Stop talking about wanting to win a championship and not giving the correct effort,'” Howard said, per Oram.

Here’s more from L.A.:

Anthony Davis is finding his voice as a leader with LeBron James sidelined with COVID-19, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. “It’s like I’m being tested with my leadership,” Davis told Yahoo Sports following Tuesday’s game. “‘Bron has been out with injuries and now also with the COVID situation, so it’s a good test for me. It’s a good experience for me to lead these guys and the good thing about it, I have other vets on my side who’ve been in the game for a while to help me through the obstacles. It’s a good test, not just for our team, but for me to lead these guys.”
Speaking of James, Davis said he’s doing well and is asymptomatic so far, tweets Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group.
Veteran big man Serge Ibaka, recently returned from back surgery, gave the Clippers‘ offense a boost as they battle through a slump, writes Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group. Ibaka had 13 points and six rebounds Monday against the Pelicans, shooting 5-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. The Clips could really use more of that type of output, as they currently rank 25th in the league in offensive rating. The Clippers are 2-5 in their last seven games and 11-10 on the season.

Lakers Notes: Ariza, Vogel, Bradley, Westbrook

November 30th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

As Lakers forward Trevor Ariza continues to recover from an October 6 scope of his right ankle, he will remain unavailable for Los Angeles for the immediate future, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Goon notes that an Ariza reincorporation into lineups for L.A. would help the club use big man Anthony Davis at the center position more frequently.

Head coach Frank Vogel said that Ariza remains “a ways away” from suiting up for Los Angeles, Goon writes. Without an explicit timeline for Ariza’s 2021/22 season debut, the 6’8″ veteran will soon be re-assessed by team doctors when he officially has been out for eight weeks, writes Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.

“I don’t have a definite date or anything like that,” Ariza said. “It’s all on when the doctors clear or the way my body feels and responds to more loading, more work. That’s kind of the gauge on when I’ll be able to be out there safely.”

There’s more out of the soon-to-be-Crypto.com Arena:

With the Lakers having sputtered to an 11-11 start, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated contends that blaming head coach Frank Vogel for the team’s problems is short-sighted. The team’s significant roster churn appears to be the prime culprit. The Lakers’ main errors this season, Mannix writes, appear to have been the front office’s trade for pricey former All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook and the decision to let guards Alex Caruso and Dennis Schröder depart in free agency.
An MRI has revealed that Lakers combo guard Avery Bradley has suffered a UCL sprain in his right thumb, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. As a result of the injury, Bradley will miss tonight’s contest against the Kings. The 30-year-old has started 16 games of the 21 games he has played for the Lakers this year, averaging 5.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG over 22.2 MPG.
New Lakers starting point guard Russell Westbrook has put up typically impressive, albeit inefficient, counting stats during his first two months with his hometown club, but Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins of ESPN’s NBA Today (video link) wonder if L.A. might already be regretting its decision to go all-in for the aging vet.

Stein’s Latest: Kings, M. Brown, Atkinson, Vogel, Wall

November 26th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he became the controlling owner of the Kings, Vivek Ranadive was a minority stakeholder in the Warriors, and he still has a “stubborn fascination” with his old team, writes Marc Stein at Substack. According to Stein, there’s buzz in league circles that a pair of Warriors assistants – Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson – will be among the candidates who receive consideration for the Kings’ head coaching job if the team doesn’t retain Alvin Gentry beyond this season.

Here’s more from Stein’s latest look around the league:

There’s “rising buzz” in NBA coaching circles that Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is facing increasing pressure with the team still sitting at .500 (10-10), says Stein. Earlier this week, we mentioned Vogel when we speculated about which head coaches could be the next to find themselves on the hot seat.
While John Wall may be getting a little frustrated with his situation in Houston, the veteran point guard consented to the possibility of the Rockets holding him out for the entire season. According to Stein, Wall signed off on the plan after being told he’d have a limited role in Houston’s backcourt if he were active, since the club is focused on developing young guards Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green.
As we relayed in a full story earlier this afternoon, Stein says Mavericks officials are expressing confidence about their chances of retaining Jalen Brunson beyond the 2021/22 season.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Ayton, Fox, Haliburton, Lakers

November 26th, 2021 at 9:55am CST by Luke Adams

Suns players met with head coach Monty Williams and general manager James Jones when the allegations against team owner Robert Sarver broke early in November, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Although the players haven’t said much publicly about those allegations, they got information about the situation and discussed it internally during those meetings.

“We have a communicative group,” Suns star Devin Booker said. “We talk to each other a lot. We keep everything in house. It’s a tight-knit group. We speak on everything, and we share with each other how we feel about it, and nobody else finds out how we feel about things.”

The Sarver allegations could’ve become a distraction for a franchise that exceeded expectations in 2020/21 and got off to a 1-3 start this season, but the Suns have avoided letting that happen. They’ve won 12 consecutive games since the story broke, extending their overall winning streak to 14 games. They’ll be looking to push that number to 15 on Friday in New York.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

After not signing a contract extension in the offseason, Suns center Deandre Ayton is focused on continuing to improve and expand his game as he nears restricted free agency. “I saw the flaws and the mistakes and stuff that I should’ve done in the playoffs and Finals, especially the Finals,” Ayton said this week, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I didn’t like the way I performed in the Finals. … Like I said from the beginning of the season, I’m trying to be more of a threat. … I’m trying to make a mark and trying to get used to certain things I wasn’t used to doing.”
The Kings made a head coaching change on Sunday, but there’s no indication that a major roster shakeup is around the corner, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who hears that guards De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton remain off-limits in trade talks.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel figures to face scrutiny if the team continues to struggle this season, but Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times preaches patience and thinks general manager Rob Pelinka should be careful about how he handles the situation. If Vogel were to be let go, there would be “no one left standing between Pelinka and the firing squad,” Hernandez writes, adding that Vogel is a defensive-minded coach who lost many of his best defenders in the offseason.

Lakers Notes: Vogel, Westbrook, Reaves, Ellington

October 23rd, 2021 at 5:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lakers coach Frank Vogel believes fans and the media are overreacting to an 0-2 start, writes Bill Oram of The Athletic. Friday night was particularly bad for L.A. as the team was blown out by the Suns in a game that saw Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard get into a sideline altercation, Rajon Rondo have a dispute with a courtside fan, and Vogel receive a technical foul after running onto the court to question a call.

“We’re just disappointed that we’re not winning, that’s all,” Vogel said. “Look, these are some of the greatest players ever to play because of their competitive spirit. If you don’t win, there’s going to be frustration. That’s what makes them great.”

The Lakers are still learning to play together after having the largest roster turnover in the league during the offseason, with just three players remaining from last year’s team. They added a group of former All-Stars, but there are concerns that the roster is too old and doesn’t fit well together. Oram suggests that Friday’s performance reflects a lack of discipline as well.

“I think that can get overly blown when you lose a game,” LeBron James told reporters. “You have some techs here, you see an altercation. You start saying, ‘OK, these guys are ultimately … the whole thing’s frustration.’ Well, we’re competitors. If you don’t get mad at certain things on the floor that you feel like you should have done better, then what are you here for?”

There’s more on the Lakers:

Russell Westbrook was significantly better on Friday than he was in the season opener, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Westbrook put up familiar statistics with 15 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and was able to drive to the rim several times. L.A. played without a center for part of the fourth quarter, and Buha expects Vogel to continue to experiment with lineups to find the best combination to go with Westbrook.
Austin Reaves helped the Lakers rally in the fourth quarter and is making a bid to be part of the regular rotation, Buha adds. The rookie guard gives the offense another play-maker and a three-point threat. “We’re learning about our team,” Vogel said. “Gave some of the other wings a chance, the first chance. Weren’t getting much done as a group in the first three quarters, and as a coach, when you’re down big, you try to change the game with a small lineup and a different guy at the wing. And Austin came in and played really well.”
Wayne Ellington‘s season debut will be delayed at least one more game, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Ellington has been ruled out for Sunday’s contest with a strained hamstring, but the team hopes he’ll be available sometime during the coming week.