'It's unfair': Brutal detail in sacking of Lakers coach Frank Vogel

Frank Vogel's final press conference as Los Angeles Lakers coach was all sorts of awkward.

The Lakers sacked their head coach on Monday after insisting a change of leadership was needed after the club's shock failure to reach the NBA Playoffs.

'NEVER IN MY LIFE': Fury at NBA referees over 'embarrassing' act

'SHOULD BE BANISHED': NBA fans slam 'pathetic' 63-year low

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka confirmed Vogel's dismissal in a statement, a day after the club's miserable campaign drew to a close.

"This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point," Pelinka said.

Vogel's ill-fated tenure came to a close with a morale-boosting win over Denver in the final game of the regular season.

However, just minutes before the game finished and Vogel sat down to answer questions from reporters in his obligatory post-game pass conference, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted leaked news that the Lakers were getting set to fire the coach.

In truly cringe-worthy scenes, Vogel appeared to have no idea about such reports and bristled when asked about his impending dismissal.

“I haven’t been told s**t and I’m going to enjoy tonight’s game, celebrate what these young guys did, in terms of scratching and clawing and impacting this game and getting a W, and we’ll deal with tomorrow tomorrow,” Vogel said in reply to the question about his future.

“I’m going to enjoy tonight’s game and what our guys did tonight and the way we finished out this season.”

Former Lakers stars Robert Horry and James Worthy discussed the situation on the Spectrum Sports post-game show and took aim at the timing of Wojnarowski’s tweet.

“For Woj to come out and say this, it’s unfair,” Horry said.

Worthy agreed by adding: “Tomorrow maybe? But a minute after the game, give the coach a press conference after the game.”

Vogel leaves the Lakers after three seasons in charge and famously led the franchise to a 17th NBA championship in 2020.

Talking to reporters about the decision to sack Vogel, Lakers general manager Pelinka said it followed a season that had been "disappointing at every level."

"When you have disappointment you need to take ownership of that and make adjustments to be better," Pelinka said.

"Today's not going to be a day of finger-pointing or unwinding all the specific reasons, we just felt organisationally, that it was time for a new voice."

Frank Vogel departs after dismal season for Lakers

The sacking came as Lakers players addressed the media in end-of-season interviews.

Lakers superstar LeBron James said before the dismissal was confirmed he had "nothing but respect" for Vogel.

"I respect Frank as a coach, as a man," James said earlier Monday.

"The partnership that we've had over the past few years has been nothing but just candid, great conversations.

"He's a guy who gives everything to the game. Prepared us every single night with his coaching staff.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I've got nothing but respect for him."

The Lakers finished the 2021-2022 campaign in 11th place in the Western Conference, missing out on the postseason with a dismal record of 33 wins and 49 losses.

It is only the fourth time in James' career that he has failed to reach the playoffs, and the second time it has happened since he joined the Lakers in 2018.

The team had been tipped as championship contenders before the season after acquiring nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade.

But injuries meant that the Lakers were only able to field their big three of James, Westbrook and Anthony Davis in 21 games during the 82-game season.

with agencies

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.