Apparently, an NBA championship doesn’t give you much slack in the city of Los Angeles.
We’ve seen it happen several times over the years: A coach guides his team to the title only to find his job security in question a season or two later. So it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that current head coach Frank Vogel is on the hot seat just 15 months removed from the 2020 championship, according to Sam Amick and Bill Oram of The Athletic.
Vogel, according to The Athletic report, “is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis and remains at risk of being fired soon if the progress doesn’t continue”. Should Vogel be fired, the Lakers will be on the hunt for their third coach since the 2016-17 season.
Los Angeles let Alex Caruso walk less than a year after their Finals run and shipped out Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope via trade around the same time. The Lakers have dealt with their share of injuries and COVID-19 bouts, but that isn’t unique to just them. Anthony Davis’ inability to stay healthy, Russell Westbrook’s performances and the front office’s roster-building decisions all play a part in a 22-22 record—everyone has their percentage of the blame. It now appears that Vogel might be the first to suffer the consequences.
Frank Vogel is coaching for his job, sources tell @billoram and @sam_amick.
The Lakers coach is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis.
More: https://t.co/31FEbAEsW3 pic.twitter.com/m2uKMGno5V
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 18, 2022
The Lakers, as star-studded as ever, have championship aspirations but are just .500 on the season and clinging to the eighth seed in the Western Conference. They have +1300 championship odds and +550 odds at Tipico Sportsbook to win the West.
Perhaps this is a time to buy low on Los Angeles making another run. But a lot will have to go right in a hurry in order to cash those tickets.
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