Report: Lakers on Verge of Making Major Change

The Los Angeles Lakers need a major change to make things work for the team. They have a bad record at the moment and players really need to improve their performance. General Manager Rob Pelinka brought a lot of valuable players to LA in the preseason. Unfortunately, most of these players are missing time due to injuries or COVID.

This leads us to the head coach. According to Bill Oram and Sam Amick, Frank Vogel may lose his job as a head coach in LA. Believe it or not, Vogel is on a “game-to-game” basis with the team. Jeanie Buss didn’t want to make any decision on Vogel because the team wasn’t 100% healthy. Well, the Lakers are relatively healthy at the moment and Anthony Davis will soon return to the floor. In other words, the front office may consider firing Vogel after the most recent struggles.

“By the time the Lakers and Jazz tipped off on Monday night, sources said, Vogel was coaching for his job after he narrowly avoided being fired in the wake of the 37-point loss in Denver 48 hours earlier,” Oram and Amick said on January 18. “Had a scene like that repeated itself against the Jazz, many believed it would have been Vogel’s last game.

“Vogel, who coached the Lakers to a championship in 2020 and whose contract runs through the 2022-23 campaign, is being evaluated on a game-to-game basis and remains at risk of being fired soon if the progress doesn’t continue, sources said. It’s unclear how much Monday’s win [vs. Jazz] relieved the pressure that surrounds him.”

The Lakers to make a major change for a reason

Marc Stein discussed the same topic. He is convinced that the Lakers would rather change their head coach instead of just sign/trade players.

“There is also rising buzz in coaching circles about the pressure mounting on Frank Vogel given the Lakers’ worrisome 10-10 start … given L.A.’s lack of flexibility to make roster changes,” Stein said.

Sam Quinn from CBS Sports would place some blame on Rob Pelinka, too. Quinn wrote that Vogel is not the only person to be blamed for the bad season.

“Whatever happens to Frank Vogel should happen to Rob Pelinka,” Quinn tweeted on January 18. “There are definitely valid criticisms of Vogel’s performance as coach of the Lakers, but Rob Pelinka inarguably has done a worse job as general manager of the Lakers. If one goes, the other has to go.”