Lakers news: Frank Vogel believes enhanced shooting around LeBron James is key to bounce back year

Frank Vogel is planning to improve the Lakers' shooting to take advantage of LeBron James, whom the the new coach called the greatest drive-and-kick player.

New Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has already a plan set for the team, and he pretty much knows what to do to improve the Purple and Gold on the offensive end.

In a sit-down interview with Lakers.com, Vogel gave a general view on how the Lakers' offense will run next season. He emphasized the importance of shooting and making sure that the team gets a lot more open shots. Moreover, he pointed out that he plans to utilize LeBron James — whom he called the “greatest drive-and-kick player” in the history of the game.

”I really believe in the value of the 3-point shot, and really what the analytics people would say the priority should be in your offensive approach. Meaning that the value of the free throw is higher than the rim two, which is higher than the corner three, which is higher than the arc three, which is higher than the mid-range shot,” Vogel explained.

“But within all of that the open shot takes precedent. We’re going to have a system in which we minimize the amount of guarded shots that we take, and I think there is going to be a big value in enhancing the perimeter shooting that we put around arguably the greatest drive-and-kick player that has ever played the game.”

James thrived in teams that had reliable 3-point shooters in them, as proven by his championship wins with the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Lakers took a different approach last season as they signed guys like Lance Stephenson, Michael Beasley, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee. Not only were they not known for their shooting, but they turned out to be severely inconsistent throughout the season.

Now, Vogel wants to employ a system where LeBron will have the space to operate, knowing that if he attracts double or triple teams, he has a bunch of guys he can pass the ball to.

Guys that can actually make shots.

Vogel believes this approach will pave the way for the Lakers' return to the playoffs next season.

“These are all things that we believe that we can get accomplished very, very soon and that could help us have one hell of a bounce-back year,” he added.