This off-season has been full of changes for the Phoenix Suns. One of the bigger ones was the dismissing of Monty Williams as head coach and the hiring of Frank Vogel to replace him. Williams had a very successful run as the head coach.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Suns were a combined 194-115 in the regular season during his four years as the coach. Phoenix also had lots of playoff success. This included a NBA finals appearance and two second round exits from the playoffs. The second round exits both ended with blowout losses. This led to the Suns letting Williams go.
How do you replace a coach who had so much success?
The answer is to get one who has dealt with every situation a NBA head coach can deal with. Vogel has been around the block in this league. Which has prepared him for this very unique opportunity.
At Suns media day, Frank Vogel talked about how he has learned something from each stop in his head coaching journey.
Our @TheRealDealwDA asks #Suns coach Frank Vogel about the lessons he learned from his time coaching the Lakers @BurnCitySuns pic.twitter.com/IJid3pseXz
— Burn City Sports (@BurnCitySports) October 2, 2023
“I think every coaching spot that you have you learn different lessons,” said Vogel, “I cut my teeth at Indiana as a head coach. Learned to evolve my system in Orlando. I learned to work with big stars in L.A.”
Vogel had a very successful run with the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were 250-181 in the regular season during his five plus seasons as head coach. Indiana also had lots of success in the playoffs during that time. They made two appearances in the eastern conference finals. Vogel had to deal with lots of different situations while with the Pacers.
He then went on to become the head coach of the Orlando Magic. Vogel did not experience the success he had with the Pacers while in Orlando. The Magic went 52-110 during his two seasons as head coach with no playoff appearances.
This had to be a tough time for Vogel as he became accustomed to winning in Indiana. Vogel does not look back at that time in a negative light. It helped him prepare for his next opportunity.
In his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Vogel helped led them to the NBA championship. This was in the 2019-20 season which included a nearly four month layoff due to Covid-19. After that layoff the season was resumed in “The Bubble”. Frank Vogel was the head coach of the team that won the most unique championship in NBA history.
If that doesn’t prepare you for anything and everything going forward, then nothing will.
Frank Vogel has been the coach of the up and coming team trying to take down the kings of the conference in Indiana. He has also been the coach of a young team that needs development in Orlando. Then coached a team that was championship ready with big name stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles.
He has been through every imaginable and unimaginable circumstance as a head coach. Coaching another team with big names and big expectations is something he has been preparing for, for a long time.
It looks like Vogel knows just what buttons to push and when to push them. Can he push the Suns to a NBA championship is the big question.
