Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has the tough task of keeping his team engaged during what's expected to be a long NBA hiatus.

The Lakers helmsman found out two of his players had contracted the novel coronavirus, but admitted even he didn't know who they were. Vogel is okay with that:

“I don't even know who are they,” Vogel told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan, “and I'm totally fine with that.”

Lakers players were cleared from the virus on Wednesday after following a 14-day self-isolation protocol.

Vogel has also done quarantining of his own and purposefully shifted his mindset to adopt an offseason one to decompress:

“I've mentally flipped my seasons,” the coach explained. “I'm in the summer now. I really feel it's necessary for us to mentally decompress. It's a better mindset than trying to power through this. If we sprint through what could potentially be a two- to three-month break, with workouts and meetings and projects and film throughout, will we be fresh when it matters?

“We need to realize ‘when it matters' could be July or August.”

Returning to the hardwood will be as much of a mental hurdle as a physical one, especially for a West-leading team like the Lakers, who hold a 49-14 record at the moment.

Los Angeles was peaking at the right time with just 19 games left in the regular season. That might now be sliced into fewer games or potentially none at all before the postseason takes place, if the playoffs even happen at all.

With a plethora of unknown variables in play, it's just about impossible for the Lakers to properly prepare for the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign. They're in the same boat as everybody else, though, so it will just be a matter of making the best of it.