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The Los Angeles Lakers insisted on a short-term contract when they searched for a new coach during the 2019 offseason. Talks with Ty Lue fell apart at least in part because of their insistence on a three-year contract that would have theoretically aligned their new coach’s time with the team with LeBron James’, as that was when his contract was originally set to expire. But Frank Vogel was willing to bet on himself and take that shorter contract and has been rewarded for it. Vogel led the Lakers to a championship in 2020, and now, it looks like he’ll be remaining with the Lakers a while longer.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski went on NBA Countdown Saturday and reported that the Lakers plan to initiate contract extension talks with Vogel after the season. Considering Vogel’s success in Los Angeles, any new deal would figure to make him one of the NBA’s highest-paid coaches.
Vogel finished fifth in Coach of the Year voting in 2020 and should draw consideration for his work this season as well. The Lakers are 36-25 this season despite missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis for large stretches due to injury. They have had the NBA’s No. 1 defense all season, and it actually even improved slightly when Davis and James were out. That is a testament to Vogel’s defensive acumen. He is arguably the NBA’s best coach on that end of the floor.
His roster management played a big part in winning the Lakers the 2020 title. He was willing to bench season-long starter JaVale McGee and play more small lineups when matchups demanded it, and that is a decision he will have to face again this postseason with Andre Drummond, Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol fighting for minutes at center. James and Davis bought into his system from the moment he was hired.
And unsurprisingly, that has impressed the Lakers brass enough to give him an extension. When they initially hired him, they seemingly did so specifically for James’ window, but he has done so well that the Lakers correctly want to lock him up for the long haul and ensure that no matter who is playing for them in the years to come, Vogel will be the man leading them.