Former Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel has emerged as the front-runner to be offered the Los Angeles Lakers‘ head-coaching job, league sources told ESPN.
The Lakers are planning to pair Jason Kidd with Vogel as an assistant coach, league sources said.
Vogel’s emerging candidacy speaks to the significant influence of Lakers adviser Kurt Rambis and former coach Phil Jackson, whose opinions weigh heavily with owner Jeanie Buss. Vogel was the runner-up to Jeff Hornacek when Jackson hired a New York Knicks replacement for Derek Fisher in the summer of 2016.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has spent the past few days gathering information from those who have worked with both Vogel and Kidd about how they believe those two could complement each other on a Lakers coaching staff, league sources said.
Vogel flew to Los Angeles on Thursday and met with Pelinka and his front office and had detailed discussions on how Vogel would approach the possibility of taking over what has become a volatile situation.
The Lakers are under tremendous pressure to partner LeBron James with a suitable replacement to Luke Walton and to start to quell the turmoil that’s surrounding the organization.
As much as Vogel has to be judged on a difficult two-year tenure with the Magic in which he won 29 and 25 games with a rebuilding team, he did build a strong reputation in his five seasons with the Pacers, who advanced to the Eastern Conference finals during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
