NBA News: Lakers Officially Part Ways With Frank Vogel

As the Los Angeles Lakers struggled to capture that championship spark they created a few years back during their time in the NBA bubble, the team decided to

As the Los Angeles Lakers struggled to capture that championship spark they created a few years back during their time in the NBA bubble, the team decided to make a significant move before they embark on a critical offseason.

While there is plenty of blame to go around in Los Angeles, Lakers head coach Frank Vogel became the first domino to fall as the Lakers not only missed the NBA Playoffs, but they won't participate in the Play-In Tournament for the second season in a row.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers informed Vogel that he was being relieved of his duties on Monday afternoon. It was a decision that was far from shocking, considering Vogel's job has been rumored to have been on the line for months.

Who Are the Lakers Eyeing?

There aren't too many immediate rumored candidates at this time for Los Angeles, but the few reports that have discussed coaches the Lakers might try to pursue made it clear that as always, the Lakers are going to shoot for the stars in their coaching search.

Last week, Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported that Doc Rivers is a name that league personnel has mentioned as a possible Vogel replacement in LA. 

This week, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is somebody the Lakers might try to pursue.

At this time, both candidates are long shots for the Lakers. But as the LeBron James-Anthony Davis-led Lakers remain an intriguing squad for a coach who might think they can help turn things around for next season and beyond, nothing should be ruled out for Los Angeles as they look to get back on the right track.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.