Jeanie Buss Discusses Frank Vogel, and Russell Westbrook Shows Why Teammates (Like LeBron James) Love Him - a podcast by Locked On Podcast Network, Anthony Irwin

Turns out Tuesday's win over Boston was part of an even busier night for the Lakers. First, Jeanie Buss spoke about Frank Vogel's future with Mark Medina of NBA.com, saying the Lakers won't make any big choices about their head coach until the team is healthy. And given that Kendrick Nunn won't qualify in that regard for a little while at least, that seems to bode well for Frank Vogel. And honestly, while there are things to criticize, if the Lakers don't have a replacement in mind that would constitute an upgrade, canning Vogel doesn't make much sense. It's incredibly disruptive, and should be the last resort, not a first.
Then again, Jeanie has expressed support for coaches who eventually get fired,so how meaningful was the moment?
Meanwhile, if you missed it, Russell Westbrook got up in Enes Kanter Freedom's grill while the C's reserve center sat on the bench, ostensibly supporting his teammate LeBron James. Freedom, after all, has been using criticism of James to drive attention to human rights abuses in China, among other places. What does it say about Westbrook the teammate, and why the Lakers (LeBron and Anthony Davis, particularly) wanted to bring him in? Because his value does extend to intangible questions around team culture.Finally, what exactly is Freedom doing? Are his criticisms of James valid? Are they undercut by what is clearly a desire/affinity for attention? Is he allowing himself to be used by people who have no interest in his cause and message? (Spoiler alert - yes, yes, yes.) It's a conversation with a lot of levels, some of which are explored here.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: Jeanie on Vogel. What do words of "wait and see" support mean coming from ownership?

SEGMENT 2: Russell Westbrook goes to bat for LeBron. What it says about Russ.SEGMENT 3: Freedom vs. LeBron, sort of. A master class on multiple things being true at once.

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