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NBA: Lakers head coach Frank Vogel fired after season flop

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Agence France-Presse

<p>LOS ANGELES, United States - The Los Angeles Lakers sacked head coach Frank Vogel on Monday, saying a change of leadership was needed after the club&#x27;s shock failure to reach the playoffs.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you, Coach. <a href="https://t.co/8eb4Ia9ZqI">pic.twitter.com/8eb4Ia9ZqI</a></p>— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1513577029194579968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2022</a></blockquote><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/06/22/nba-lakers-out-of-playoff-contention-after-suns-rout">NBA: Lakers out of playoff contention after Suns rout</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/08/22/warriors-rout-lakers-wrap-up-regular-season-home-games">NBA: Warriors cruise past Lakers to wrap up regular season home games</a></li></ul><p>Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka confirmed Vogel&#x27;s dismissal in a statement, a day after the club&#x27;s miserable campaign drew to a close.</p><p>&quot;This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point,&quot; Pelinka said.</p><p>Speculation over Vogel&#x27;s future intensified after the Lakers&#x27; final regular season game on Sunday, with ESPN reporting that the coach -- who led the franchise to a 17th NBA championship in 2020 - would be fired.</p><p>Talking to reporters later Monday, Pelinka said the Lakers&#x27; season had been &quot;disappointing at every level.&quot;</p><p>&quot;When you have disappointment you need to take ownership of that and make adjustments to be better,&quot; Pelinka said.</p><p>&quot;Today&#x27;s not going to be a day of finger-pointing or unwinding all the specific reasons, we just felt organizationally, that it was time for a new voice.&quot;</p><p>The sacking came as Lakers players addressed the media in end-of-season interviews.</p><p>Lakers superstar LeBron James said before the dismissal was confirmed he had &quot;nothing but respect&quot; for Vogel.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/06/22/nba-lebron-james-out-for-lakers-must-win-game">NBA: LeBron James out for Lakers&#x27; must-win game</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I respect Frank as a coach, as a man,&quot; James said earlier Monday. </p><p>&quot;The partnership that we&#x27;ve had over the past few years has been nothing but just candid, great conversations.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s a guy who gives everything to the game. Prepared us every single night with his coaching staff. </p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t know what&#x27;s going to happen, but I&#x27;ve got nothing but respect for him.&quot;</p><p>Vogel bristled when asked about his reported dismissal immediately after the Lakers&#x27; 146-141 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.</p><p>&quot;I haven&#x27;t been told shit and I&#x27;m going to enjoy tonight&#x27;s game, celebrate what these young guys did in terms of scratching and clawing and getting back in this game and getting a W, and we&#x27;ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow,&quot; Vogel told reporters.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Austin Reaves steals it, goes behind his back twice and forces overtime 🤯 <a href="https://t.co/XnOQ6ERb0v">pic.twitter.com/XnOQ6ERb0v</a></p>— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1513370300905189385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ended the season with a scorcher. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LakersWin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LakersWin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AhmadMonk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AhmadMonk</a>: 41 pts<br/>Austin Reaves: 31 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast <a href="https://t.co/e8CjAdgN6w">pic.twitter.com/e8CjAdgN6w</a></p>— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1513376299036803074?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2022</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div><strong>DISMAL RECORD </strong></div><p>The Lakers finished the 2021-2022 campaign in 11th place in the Western Conference, missing out on the postseason with a dismal record of 33 wins and 49 losses.</p><p>It is only the fourth time in James&#x27; career that he has failed to reach the playoffs, and the second time it has happened since he joined the Lakers in 2018.</p><p>The team had been tipped as championship contenders before the season after acquiring nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade.</p><p>But injuries meant that the Lakers were only able to field their big three of James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis in 21 games during the 82-game season.</p><p>James said Monday that the team&#x27;s inability to find consistent results had been the most challenging aspect of the season.</p><p>&quot;It felt like every time we would take a step forward, we would take three of four steps back,&quot; James said. </p><p>&quot;We&#x27;d have a huge win at home against a playoff-contending team like Utah -- and then go on the road and lose to Houston. That was the mental side, playing with your psyche like &#x27;What the heck is going on?&#x27; </p><p>&quot;How can we be so great one night and the next night be so mediocre? That was the most challenging part of the season for sure.&quot;</p><p>James meanwhile batted away questions about his future with the Lakers, saying he had not discussed the two-year contract extension he will be eligible to sign in August because of collective bargaining agreement rules.</p><p>However he insisted he still wanted to challenge for more NBA titles with the Lakers.</p><p>&quot;I came here to win a championship. And I want to win more. So I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish, but I&#x27;m still hungry for more,&quot; James said. &quot;I&#x27;m confident that this organization wants the same.&quot; </p><p>rcw/dmc</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

The Los Angeles Lakers sacked head coach Frank Vogel, saying a change of leadership was needed after the club's shock failure to reach the playoffs.