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Los Angeles Lakers: For once, Lakers don’t miss with Frank Vogel

By Jason Reed

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 20: Head coach Frank Vogel of the Orlando Magic watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 20, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 20: Head coach Frank Vogel of the Orlando Magic watches as his team takes on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on December 20, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Lakers have done just about everything wrong over the last year but finally got something right by hiring Frank Vogel.

The Los Angeles Lakers have been a circus over the last year, making every single Laker fan skeptical of any move that the Lakers made moving forward.

Joining in on the circus act was the search for a new head coach, which certainly did not break the mold. The Lakers were rejected by Tyronn Lue not only due to the length of the proposed contract but because Lue did not want to have Jason Kidd as an assistant coach.

Kidd is becoming an assistant coach of the Los Angeles Lakers as it was reported on Friday that the Lakers signed Frank Vogel as the new head coach.

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Vogel has eight years of head coaching experience under his belt, six of which were with the Indiana Pacers and two were with the Orlando Magic. Vogel made the playoffs in five of his six years with the Pacers and missed the playoffs in both years with the Magic.

While his Magic tenure is his most recent and might appear alarming, it is hard to hold it against Vogel considering he was coaching a team that was in a rebuilding phase.

Vogel pushed Paul George and the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals two times as head coach of the Pacers when the team arguably shouldn’t have even gotten that far. Those Pacer teams were well coached, making Vogel one of the brightest new coaches in the league.

For once, the Lakers actually made the right move. There certainly were better alternatives that the Lakers could have pursued, such as San Antonio Spurs’ assistant Becky Hammon, but that does not make this a bad hire.

Vogel is a defensive-minded head coach, which is exactly what this team needed. With LeBron James running the offense the team can afford to go all-in with a defensive-minded head coach and Vogel will hopefully turn a painful to watch defense into something that can be successful.

It is going to be fun to see how he utilizes a defensive stud such as Lonzo Ball and if the Lakers bring in the right pieces this summer we could see a massive change on the defensive side of the ball.

He has that proven playoff experience that someone such as Luke Walton or even Jason Kidd don’t have. Having someone that has been in battles against LeBron coaching LeBron is something very valuable to the organization.

While we can pick apart the Kidd aspect of this, and trust me, we will in a future article, its better than having him as head coach. Plus, if we want to be optimistic, we can spin this in a way that will actually be positive to Ball’s progression, as they are two very similar players.

Next. Best case summer for the Lakers. dark

Regardless, for the first time in what seems like forever, Laker fans can be happy knowing that their team made the right move.

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