Newly appointed Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel recently joined Steve Aschburner of NBA.com for a wide-ranging interview. Amid their discussion, Vogel was asked to comment on what it will be like coaching LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the coming season.
Vogel knows James' game quite well, as the two met in several Eastern Conference playoff matchups in the past. Now, though, Vogel will have a chance to call plays for the three-time champion. And with Anthony Davis joining the team in the offseason, Vogel believes he has two of the best players he will ever get to coach:
SA: How different are LeBron and AD from players you’ve coached in the past?
FV: Talent-wise, they’re the two best players I’ll ever have had the opportunity to coach. That brings a lot of fun, a lot of excitement to what we’re able to do on the court. It brings a lot of challenges too. You have to make sure you’re managing them the right way and putting them in the right positions to feel good about their roles and what’s happening around them. There are challenges involved with that. So I’m looking forward to how that all is going to play out.
Although James has enjoyed a successful career in the NBA, there are some critics who like to point out his relationships with previous coaches. For Vogel, what's in the past will remain in the past. No measuring stick needed here:
SA: LeBron and his coaches have been a storyline at each of his stops, and not always in a pleasant way. What do you anticipate?
FV: I only know how he’s been with me. That’s the only measuring stick I’m going to use. I’m not going to look at how it’s been with his past coaches. That really doesn’t concern me. I want to shape my own opinion of him as a person and one of the greatest ever. I’m going to take my approach and work together with him to hopefully do something special.
SA: Denver’s Mike Malone was an assistant in Cleveland when LeBron was there. He told me “LeBron makes anybody a better coach. Trust me – LeBron is coming off the first year in a long time where he didn’t make the playoffs. For Frank to be coaching a pissed-off LeBron James, that’s pretty good timing.” Do you expect LeBron to do the same sort of damage for you now that he did to your teams before?
FV: For sure. That’s going to be part of the excitement of this process.
Davis joined the Lakers over the summer in a trade. Vogel talked about whether Davis will play the 4 or the 5:
SA: This might be more of a training camp question, but is it important to determine whether Davis plays power forward or center?
FV: It is, in this regard: To me, he’s effective in both positions. But I don’t think it’s wise when your mindset is to be at your best going into the playoffs, to have him banging with centers for 82 games full-time. Does that mean he’s never going to do it in the regular season? No, of course he’s going to play some center in the regular season. But we want to make sure we keep the end goal in sight and getting him to April, for that playoff run, the right way.
The Lakers were in the hunt for a playoff spot last season. However, James went down with a groin injury in December, which forced him to miss a substantial amount of time. As a result, Los Angeles fell out of contention. Hopefully, though, with an influx of new talent and an offseason to prepare, the Lakers will be back in the race.
Follow Us
Subscribe