Rumors have been circling about Frank Vogel possibly losing his job as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Monday's win over the Utah Jazz was a big one for both LA and Vogel, with reports emerging that he could have actually been fired had the Lakers lost again.

Prior to LA's bounce-back win over the Jazz, they were coming off their worst loss of the season in their previous matchup. This came in the form of a 37-point shellacking by the Denver Nuggets — a brutal loss that further put Vogel on the hot seat.

According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the Nuggets blowout resulted in Lakers special advisor Kurt Rambis making his presence known within the squad:

Rambis then attended the Lakers’ pregame coaches meeting Monday at Crypto.com Arena for the first time this season, after previously only attending meetings virtually. Rambis advocated for the Lakers to use larger lineups with Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The fact that Rambis attended the meeting in person for the first time this entire season is a pretty big deal. His presence served as an indication of some sense of urgency required from the squad. What's equally important to note is the message the Lakers icon had for Vogel and his coaching staff about giving more minutes for both Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Suns, Timberwolves, Frank Vogel, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards

Jackson Stone ·

lebron james nikola jokic

Michael Corvo ·

Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura with the Lakers arena in the background, Gabe Vincent Nuggets NBA Playoffs

David Yapkowitz ·

Incidentally, Vogel did not appear to heed Rambis' call — at least in the first game immediately after the aforementioned coach's meeting. On Monday night against the Jazz, Howard got the start for the Lakers as he matched up against reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Howard, however, logged 22 minutes in the win — almost exactly identical to his playing time in the previous game. Jordan, on the other hand, did not even get off the bench against Utah. Jordan has failed to log any playing time in nine out of LA's last 11 games.

We have to take this with a grain of salt, though. After all, this was just one game. It will be interesting to see how Vogel ends up tweaking his rotation when LA takes on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Will he be employing “larger lineups” as advocated by Rambis or will he continue to ignore his advice? We shall see.