Kennedy: Without Vogel Pacers Don’t Compete In Playoffs

Thursday Morning the Indiana Pacers announced at Larry Bird's press conference that Frank Vogel would no longer be their Head Coach.  Managing Editor of Basketball Insiders Alex Kennedy was a guest on The Sports Bash Thursday Afternoon and spoke about how surprised he was that the Pacers let Vogel leave:

"I was very surprised they were looking to make a change. Frank Vogel's done a very good job with the players he had there. Obviously they (twice) made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and he had them in the postseason and in contention for a few years there. And then this year and last year I don't think it's on Vogel the fact that (Pacers) struggled a bit; you know last year Paul George's injury really ruined their season and then this year they made so many changes to the roster with guys like David West and Roy Hibbert leaving, bringing in some young guys, bringing in Monte Ellis, they had a number of new faces this year. So the fact that they couldn't get out of the first round I think that wasn't on Vogel. In fact I think this team without Vogel probably doesn't compete with the Toronto Raptors the way that they did. So I was surprised they made the change, I don't that's necessarily the right move."

Kennedy was then asked what is next for Frank Vogel

"I talked to some people that said TV Networks are definitely going to pursue him and start talking to him. He's very good with the media and is known for being able to break things down in layman's terms so don't be surprised if TV Networks are pursuing him. But certainly (his name) is going to come up with these open jobs as well. The question is will he want them? We look at the Sacramento Kings job, the Houston Rockets job, you know there's a lot of baggage and drama that comes with these situations so it remains to be seen if he even want to coach one of these teams that have an opening."

Hear what Kennedy had to say about Sixers new Front Office hires, his analysis of Spurs vs Thunder and Heat vs Raptors series along with what is going on with Mike D'Antoni and 76ers.