As soon as the Los Angeles Lakers officially got eliminated from playoff contention, it was only a matter of time before Frank Vogel was going to get fired. It was inevitable as the Lakers needed a scapegoat for what turned out to be a horrendous 2021-22 campaign.

It also comes as no surprise that Russell Westbrook and his forgettable debut season with the Lakers played a key role in the front office's decision to give Vogel the ax. As it turns out, the Lakers weren't very happy with how Vogel failed to get the best out of Russ (h/t Sam Amick of The Athletic).:

When the decision was made to fire Vogel, sources say his handling of Westbrook and the inability to find a way to make him a more productive part of the program were among the factors that played a big part. There was a strong sense that it was on Vogel to make the Westbrook experiment work, and the fact that it didn’t led to questions about whether Westbrook had been put in a position to succeed.

While Vogel was indeed the team's head coach and it was his responsibility to make sure that the roster worked out, it would be unfair to pin the blame on him completely. After all, he can only do so much. Unfortunately for him, someone just had to be the scapegoat.