Report: Lakers players disrespected head coach Frank Vogel
With the 2021-22 NBA season about to end mercifully for the Los Angeles Lakers, it seems like the firing of head coach Frank Vogel is imminent.
On the surface, it would seem like a rash decision to get rid of him when many others share the blame for L.A.’s disastrous season, and especially when one remembers that he coached the team to the world championship literally just 18 months ago.
But in reality, Vogel had reportedly lost his connection with his players.
During a season in which the only constant seemed to be chaos and key injuries, Vogel was forced to change the starting lineup about as often as most people change their underwear.
But one of the worst manifestations of the job he did this season came in how his players reacted to him during games.
Via Los Angeles Times:
“Opposing scouts said they saw Lakers players ignoring their coaches’ instruction,” wrote Dan Woike and Broderick Turner.
With injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis and poor roster construction that forced the team to rely on several over-the-hill reserves, especially in the frontcourt, it’s hard to imagine any other coach doing much better than Vogel with this group.
However, as is the case in the NFL, when an NBA team greatly underachieves, the head coach becomes the first causality, sometimes just because firing him is the easiest change to make.
Russell Westbrook was the worst culprit
In recent weeks, more and more nuggets about how Westbrook was hard-headed and tough to deal with behind the scenes have emerged.
He played well at times, especially over the past couple of weeks, but he was inconsistent overall, and the same flaws that have plagued him for years continued to depress his overall impact.
During training camp, Vogel looked to establish the Lakers as a fast-breaking team, just like they were during their championship season, but Westbrook threatened to torpedo such efforts.
Via Los Angeles Lakers:
“Russ [Westbrook] never respected Frank [Vogel] from Day 1,” said one Lakers staff member with knowledge of the situation. “The moment Frank said anybody who gets the rebound can bring it up the court, which is just how the NBA is played these days, Russ was like, ‘Naw, I’m the point guard. Give the ball to me. Everybody run. Frank was like, ‘No, we have Talen [Horton-Tucker] We have Austin [Reaves]. We have Malik. We have LeBron. We have AD. They can all bring the ball up.’ He was like, ‘Nope, I’m the point guard. Give me that s—. Everybody get out the way.’
“From that point on, in training camp, it was a wrap, ‘cause now Russ is a fish out of water. He doesn’t know what to do. That’s how that started.”
Like Vogel, Westbrook will likely be gone this offseason. Even if L.A. finds no takers via trade and has to waive him using the NBA’s so-called stretch provision, it is seemingly over the Westbrook experiment.
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