PHOENIX – Frank Fogel led the Lakers to the NBA title in his first season in Los Angeles by finding a way to mix the skills of superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The veteran trainer is now in a similar situation in the desert, where he is taking over training Phoenix Suns Led by stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
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The scheme is right there. Vogel just needs to make the pieces fit.
“The first thing I can offer is direct belief,” Vogel said Tuesday during his inaugural press conference. “Now that I did it, I was a part of it. If the talent is in place, you can galvanize a group and take the league by storm.”
Vogel did just that with James and Davis, leading a team that went 37-45 the year before to its 17th NBA title in Florida’s pandemic bubble.
Vogel’s new team is already on the rise.
Monty Williams captained a team that won 19 games in 2018-19 and led it to the NBA Finals in two years.
When two embarrassing playoff exits followed—Phoenix trailed by 30 at halftime in both losses at home—new Suns owner Matt Ichpia and general manager James Jones decided a change was needed. The Suns fired Williams on May 13 after four successful seasons, hoping a change in message would restore the franchise near the top.
“I just felt like we needed an injection of a different sound, a different energy. It’s really that simple,” Jones said. “And as we assessed where we were and where we wanted to go, we saw a gap and we needed to fill it.”
Vogel takes over a list in flux.
Booker, one of the best scorers in the league, will return. So is Durant, a 13-time All-Star.
Point guard Chris Paul was the gear the Suns seemed to be missing when he joined the franchise in 2020, and he led Phoenix to its first NBA Finals since 1993 in his senior season.
The 38-year-old has continued to be an effective leader in his 17th season, ranking fourth in the NBA with 8.9 assists per game this season. Once the playoffs got underway, Paul’s body lost for the second year in a row, as a strained thigh took him out of the Suns’ last four games.
The Suns also have to decide whether to hold on to center Deandre Ayton or trade him.
The 24-year-old dominated at times, and disappeared at others. Ayton faded into the playoffs this year for the second consecutive season, and his averages plummeted even before he suffered a rib bruise in the fifth game against Denver.
“He can be a great (defensive) deterrent and there are still areas where he can grow offensively,” said Vogel. “I’m determined to really connect with him and get him back into an All-Star player.”
Vogel surrounded himself with proven assistants.
David Fizdel was an assistant under Vogel with the Lakers after serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks. He will be joined by Kevin Young, an NBA senior assistant who is a finalist for the position Vogel eventually acquired.
Their biggest job will be to add a little grit to the sparkle of these two high-scoring Phoenix players.
Fogel is a defensive-minded coach with a track record of success that includes an NBA title and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals as coach of the Indiana Pacers.
A dose of D could be exactly what the sun needs.
“The first habit we develop throughout the year is that we have to play harder and louder than our opponents every night,” said Vogel. “Because if you develop that habit in 82 games, boy when you come in game time, you know when every team is trying to step it up, they’ll really be there for us.”
As in Los Angeles, Vogel isn’t facing an overhaul.
Booker and Durant are still the best scorers in the leagues, and the franchise has been removed for two years from a trip to the NBA Finals. Add the right complement players and the Suns can still be one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
“We’re very close,” Vogel said. “A lot of things have to go our way. You need a lot of luck and you need some relief along the way, but I feel like the foundation is there. We just have to make some moves around the edges.”
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