Getty LeBron James & Frank Vogel of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite winning a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers just a year ago, Frank Vogel was about to head into next season on an expiring contract. There were even rumors that there was concern around the organization that Vogel hadn’t received a new contract, as reported by Kyle Goon of the OC Register. However, that concern can now dissipate.
The Lakers announced on Friday that they’ve finally agreed to a contract extension with the coach. The term of the deal have not been released but this ensures that Vogel will be sticking around past this upcoming season. LeBron James has a strong relationship with his head coach and made sure to congratulate him on the news.
Vogel certainly earned a new deal after coaching Los Angeles to a championship in his first season with the team. Sure, he’s not the most exciting name in coaching but he’s a great defensive mind and the players respect him. What will be telling is how long the contract extension is for.
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Dwight Howard Believes Lakers Player Are Underappreciated
Vogel will have his work cut out for him this season. The Lakers completely rebuilt their roster and added another superstar in Russell Westbrook. While people do have their concerns about the team’s roster, Dwight Howard the team isn’t appreciated enough.
“I think that he has been underappreciated,” Howard said of Russell Westbrook, via ESPN. “I think all of us, really, have been underappreciated. But I know that we appreciate each other. We all appreciate what we each bring to the table for this team.”
There’s no doubt there’s plenty of talent on the Lakers’ roster and it’ll be up to Vogel to figure out how it all fits together.
Howard Is Excited About Upcoming Season
The Lakers are set to have a very old team that is filled with players eager to win championships. Six years ago, the team would have the greatest collection of talent in NBA history. However, players like Howard, Carmelo Anthony and Marc Gasol are well past their primes. Despite that, the Lakers should still be good enough to win another title.
“It’s something that’s really hard to fathom. Just imagine seeing all of us on the floor at the same time, not on an All-Star team, not on the Olympic team, not for a charity game, but for an actual season all of us will be together,” Howard said. “That’s going to be great. All of our guys are hungry. We want to win. We want to stay in the best shape possible.
“So I think it’s going to be an awesome time this year, just having everybody on the floor practicing, going hard and understanding that there’s only one mission, and that’s to win a championship.”
It’s easy to forget that the Lakers won the championship a year ago with a roster that not many were high on. The team is old, there’s no about that, but they can certainly win again if they stay healthy.
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