Lakers Expected to Move Forward With Frank Vogel Despite Team Struggles

The Lakers will continue their long road trip on Tuesday night in Brooklyn. They will also have the added benefit of getting Anthony Davis back during that game if all of the reports on him are accurate. AD was listed as probable for that contest on Monday's injury report. 

Many expected this to be one of the toughest stretches of games for the Lakers that they have had all season. With the way things are going, analysts around the NBA also predicted that Frank Vogel might not have a job when they return home should the trip turn into a disaster. 

But those predictions might have been a little bit overstated. ESPN's Dave McMenamin made an appearance on SportsCenter on Monday afternoon, and he expects the Lakers to stick with Vogel for the rest of the season.

"It's my understanding that the Lakers are moving forward with Frank Vogel. I anticipate him to be the head coach for the remainder of this season." 

That comes as a little bit of a surprise given some of the reports coming out of the Lakers front office. Several members of upper management have been more involved in recent weeks, with Kurt Rambis being one of the guys sitting in on meetings and apparently making lineup suggestions. 

But since then, Vogel has stood firm in his stance that communication with the front office has been positive during their tough month. The team is 23-24 this season and has gone 5-5 over their last 10 games. 

A lot of their struggles can be attributed to roster health, but underperformance has been the story of this season. Russell Westbrook looks like a shell of himself, Anthony Davis wasn't playing spectacularly even before he was injured, and the bench has been a huge letdown.  

But apparently, Vogel will be around regardless of how things play out. Next season might be a very different story though.