Despite his firing, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t expected to wait too long for his next NBA job.
The Lakers parted ways with Vogel after they finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 33-49 record, missing out on the 2022 NBA Playoffs. But he left L.A. with the first championship ring of his career after memorably leading the Purple and Gold to the title in 2019-20 — during his first season with the team.
That year, Vogel proved he was one of the NBA’s best defensive-minded coaches, turning the Lakers into a defensive force that carried them to the championship.
The 48-year-old’s name initially didn’t come up in reports on head coaching searches around the league. But recently, Vogel has started to appear on sports bookmaker listings of potential candidates to take over at Charlotte Hornets.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the former Lakers head coach is also likely to interview with the Utah Jazz:
Two more candidates expected to interview for Utah’s coaching job, sources tell ESPN: Frank Vogel and Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter. https://t.co/1zQX8Trhq3
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 8, 2022
Quin Snyder resigned from his position as Jazz head coach earlier this month after eight seasons with the team. Snyder’s future had seemed uncertain for a while, as he was mentioned among Vogel’s potential replacements in the early stages of the Lakers’ hunt for a new head coach.
However, it was later reported Snyder was put off by the way L.A. dismissed Vogel.
Darvin Ham assembles his Lakers coaching staff
New Lakers coach Darvin Ham is already putting his staff together in L.A. as Phil Handy and Quinton Crawford have reportedly agreed to remain with the Lakers. However, Vogel’s former assistants David Fizdale, Mike Penberthy and John Lucas III are expected to leave L.A.
Ham has also confirmed his former Detroit Pistons teammate, Rasheed Wallace, is in the running for one of the coaching positions.
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