Reaction to Bucks interviewing Frank Vogel for head coaching vacancy

Marc Stein reported on Twitter Wednesday, that the Milwaukee Bucks are expected to interview former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel for their head coaching vacancy.

Vogel has most recently coached for the Los Angeles Lakers and was fired just two years after winning a championship with Los Angeles. Vogel was fired in part for not getting the most out of Russell Westbrook, who wasn’t necessarily the best fit with Lebron James and Anthony Davis. Frank Vogel may have been scapegoated a little bit by Los Angeles. They originally signed him for three years, the Lakers won a title in the NBA bubble, and they only gave Vogel a one-year extension following the championship.

Frank Vogel did run some questionable offensive rotations in Los Angeles, partially due to roster construction and injuries. His offensive shortcomings aren’t so easily explained away by injuries and bad rosters, the data does not support Frank Vogel being a strong offensive-minded coach either. The Lakers in Vogel’s last season were bottom three in passes per possession and actions per pass. However, his offense runs a decent pace, runs pick and roll, dribble hand-off, five out, similar actions to the type of offense the Milwaukee Bucks ran under Mike Budenholzer. Vogel’s offenses do run some post-action, and his teams are often in the top ten in off-ball screens. So a very similar offense that the Milwaukee Bucks ran under Mike Budenholzer just with more off-ball screens.

Reaction to Bucks interviewing Frank Vogel for head coaching vacancy

Interviewing Vogel is part of the wide net that Milwaukee Bucks General Manager Jon Horst is casting in the team’s head coaching search. Frank Vogel has 11 years of NBA head coaching experience and orchestrated some extremely tough Indiana Pacers teams that challenged the Miami Heat Big 3 in the 2010s.

In between his time with the Indiana Pacers and the Los Angeles Lakers, Frank Vogel also spent two years as the head coach of the Orlando Magic. In Orlando, Vogel dealt with a whirlwind of roster changes and a GM firing.

Frank Vogel is primarily a defensive-minded coach. Vogel is not prone to switching, wants to run 3-point shooters off the 3-point line, play square on the perimeter, and is more willing to give up the middle of the court than the baseline, which could work with Brook Lopez roaming the middle if the Bucks re-signed him.

Frank Vogel’s time across the NBA suggests that he can be successful with a good general manager. His time in Indiana does give hope that the Milwaukee Bucks could make a deep playoff run with Frank Vogel as their head coach and Vogel does have a 49-39 coaching record in the playoffs. However, Frank Vogel does run a lot of similar things to Mike Budenholzer and may be better served as a defensive lead assistant to a new head coach who has a stronger offensive-minded philosophy than filling the role of head coach.

Pairing Frank Vogel as the lead assistant to somebody like James Borrego, who the Milwaukee Bucks have also interviewed for their head coaching vacancy, could create a dynamic duo of an offensive mind in Borrego with a defense of mind in Frank Vogel with over 15 years of head coaching experience between them.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Milwaukee Bucks coaching search.