Former Phoenix Suns' Head Coach Frank Vogel was recently announced as the Associate Head Coach for the Golden State Warriors behind Steve Kerr, and he will excel in that role in a way he never could in The Valley.
Vogel gets best of both worlds with new Warriors role
Vogel works best with rosters that are trying to win, as we saw during his awful stint with an Orlando Magic roster that was young and going nowhere fast. He was an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks last season, which largely flew under the radar, but the Warriors fit is much better.
The end of the Warriors' dynasty has been apparent for a while now, but as long as they have Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, they'll have a puncher's chance. Prying Devin Booker from the Suns could be exactly what they need to keep their contending odds alive as their current stars age, but that's not going to happen anytime soon.
If Kerr decides to call it a day at any point in the coming couple of years, Vogel looks like the ideal replacement. Should that not happen, being one of the top assistants in the game would surely also work better for him than being the leading voice in Phoenix.
His one-year tenure with the Suns was a disaster. Yet, the further removed we get from it, the less ugly it feels. The Suns did at least make the playoffs, getting swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the subsequent arrival of Mike Budenholzer made him look like a defensive genius by comparison. Still, the Suns have moved on to their next chapter.
Suns lucky to have found Jordan Ott after years of uncertainty
Hearing Vogel resurface with this particular title only makes it clearer that the Suns have their guy long-term in Jordan Ott, although this coming season will bring with it new expectations. How he squeezes more than 45 wins out of largely the same group is unclear, and that assumes the best-case scenario with Miles Bridges being the talent upgrade they need to compete.
Thankfully, he is 12 years Vogel's junior and can grow with this team as they continue to try and win around Booker.
If the Warriors do eventually part with Kerr and Vogel gets one more shot at a top job, don't expect it to end any differently than his brief tenure in Phoenix.
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