Warriors hire Frank Vogel, LeBron James former coach, as assistant head coach
The Golden State Warriors may have just added a defensive specialist, a championship voice and a small piece of LeBron James bait all in one move.Golden State has agreed to hire former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel as associate head coach under Steve Kerr, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.Vogel fills the vacancy left by Terry Stotts and is expected to take on a major role in the Warriors’ defensive game-planning after Jerry Stackhouse and Chris DeMarco previously helped lead that side of the staff.On basketball terms alone, it is an easy hire to understand.Vogel has long been respected as a defensive coach.
He helped turn the Indiana Pacers into one of the Eastern Conference’s toughest teams during their battles with James’ Miami Heat, then coached James and the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championship inside the bubble.Vogel’s arrival gives Golden State a chance to restore some of the defensive structure it has struggled to consistently find since Mike Brown left Kerr’s staff in 2022.
The Warriors still have Draymond Green’s ability to quarterback a defense, but their identity on that end has not been as sharp or reliable in recent years.Vogel should give them a clearer blueprint, more creative ways to build around Green’s strengths and a better chance to pull consistent defensive buy-in from the rest of the roster.But the LeBron angle is impossible to ignore.James played three seasons for Vogel in Los Angeles, and while that partnership ended with Vogel’s firing after a disastrous 33-49 season in 2021-22, James publicly praised him on the way out.“I respect Frank as a coach and as a man,” James said after Vogel was fired.“Our partnership that we’ve had over a few years here has been nothing but just candid.
Great conversations.He’s a guy that gives everything to the game.
Prepared us every single night along with his coaching staff as well.You’ve got to give those guys a lot of credit, too.”Vogel’s firing had as much...