NBA Rumors: Mavs Favored to Land Frank Vogel If Ex-Lakers HC Considers Assistant Job
If Frank Vogel doesn't land an NBA head-coaching gig ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Dallas Mavericks are expected to come calling.
NBA writer Marc Stein reported that Vogel could potentially join Jason Kidd's staff:
"As I reported last week, Vogel just interviewed for the Milwaukee Bucks' head coaching vacancy. While Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is a known admirer of Vogel, Dallas is regarded as the favorite to land him in the event Vogel begins to consider assistant coaching positions for next season. Vogel and Mavericks coach Jason Kidd became close when Kidd served as an assistant under Vogel for two seasons with the Lakers, which included L.A.'s run to the championship in October 2020 in the Walt Disney World bubble in Orlando."
Vogel, 49, has served as the head coach for the Indiana Pacers (2010-11 to 2015-16), Orlando Magic (2016-17 to 2017-18) and Los Angeles Lakers (2019-20 to 2021-22) in his coaching career.
He also was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Pacers before becoming a head coach.
Vogel has gone 431-389 with seven playoff appearances and a bubble title in the 2019-20 season while in charge of the Lakers. He was ultimately fired in Los Angeles after failing to get an ill-conceived roster built around LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook into the postseason last year.
The Lakers since rebuilt that roster and reached the Western Conference Finals this season behind first-year head coach Darvin Ham, though they trail 3-0 to the Denver Nuggets in that series.
The Mavericks are coming off a hugely disappointing campaign that saw them go 38-44 and miss not only the playoffs but the play-in tournament as well. It was a concerning year for a team hopeful to build a contender around Luka Dončić and keep him in Dallas for the duration of his career.
Dončić is under contract through the 2025-26 season, with a $48.9 million player option for the 2026-27 campaign.
There are some questions as to whether Kidd might be on the hot seat after this past season's letdown, though he did lead the Mavs to the Western Conference Finals in his first year on the post. Adding another veteran voice to the staff, who he's worked with in the past, would make sense.
