Lakers Could Hire NBA Champion to Replace Frank Vogel as Head Coach: Report

Getty Lakers GM Rob Pelinka

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to part ways with head coach Frank Vogel this summer and Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers could replace him, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Rivers’ tenure with the Sixers has come into question of late, per Fischer. The one-time champion coached the other team in Los Angeles, the Clippers, for seven seasons before joining the Sixers last season.

“Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach, is another active bench leader being mentioned by league personnel as a potential Lakers candidate,” Fischer reported. “Rivers’ tenure in Philadelphia has also come into question of late, spurred by team president Daryl Morey’s deadline acquisition of James Harden and the mounting speculation that followed about a potential reunification with Harden’s former Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni.

“Rivers has also been linked by several league sources as a potential replacement for the Jazz, in the event Snyder does depart Utah. Rivers was the head coach in Boston from 2004 to 2013 under current Jazz CEO Danny Ainge.”

Rivers has coached the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Clippers and Sixers. He won Coach of the Year in 1999-00 with the Magic and guided the Celtics to the 2008 title over Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Rivers, a Chicago native, was named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history this year and has always been a big fan of LeBron James.

Rivers Has Always Spoken Highly of LeBron

Whenever Rivers has been asked to talk about LeBron, he has always spoken highly of the King, who is the only player in NBA history with over 10,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists.

“There’s a lot of people in the league with LeBron’s body,” Rivers said about LeBron in March 2020, per Melissa Rohlin of Sports Illustrated. “There’s no one in the league with his brain.”

Rivers also said this about LeBron last season: “He does everything better than he did five or six years ago, which was supposed to be his prime. … You still have got to keep him out of the paint because his paint attacks create fouls, create other threes for other people and create easy twos. If you have to pick a poison, you still have to pick it. It’s just more poisonous.”

According to Fischer, the Lakers are expected to focus on coaching candidates with previous experience. If Rivers and the Sixers part ways this offseason, Los Angeles would be an interesting destination for Doc, who has over 90 career postseason wins.

However, as Lakers fans know, Rivers has blown several leads as a head coach.

Rivers Has Lost 6 Series After Being up 3-2, 3 Series After Being up 3-1

According to Arash Markazi, Rivers has lost six playoffs series after being up 3-2 and three postseason series after being up 3-1. He’s the only coach in NBA history to blow three 3-1 series leads.

Rivers also holds the record for most Game 7 losses with eight, per HoopsHype.

If the Lakers part ways with Vogel, it will be fascinating to see who they hire and if Rivers is someone they interview. The Sixers would have to part ways with Rivers for the LakeShow to talk to him.