If Alex Jensen gets new gig, Utah Jazz should pursue Igor Kokoskov, Frank Vogel

If the Utah Jazz need to replace Alex Jensen in their coaching staff, former Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov or former Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel would both be incredible targets.

It’s no secret that the life of an NBA head coach can be a challenging one. A recent study by Kip Wright determined that on average, NBA teams hire a new head coach every 2.4 seasons, the shortest tenure of any of the major U.S. sports. For some unfortunate coaches, such as former Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov, even that minuscule average was too generous. After just one season with the Phoenix Suns, Igor found himself relieved of his post.

In a lot of ways, in fact I’d say in most ways, that’s more indicative of the incredibly incompetent management of the Phoenix Suns than it is of the coaching job done by Igor. The Suns showed some signs of life near the end of the 2018-19 season that were more encouraging than much of what they’ve shown in recent years, and the Phoenix roster was far from well-equipped. Igor was placed in a difficult situation and really wasn’t given much of a fair shake to be let go after one season.

As such, Kokoskov now finds himself on the job market, which is an interesting turn of events for Jazz fans. Igor was well-liked in his time in Salt Lake City and was widely credited for his work with Utah’s point guards, namely Ricky Rubio who had one of the best stretches of his career from February 2018 until the end of the 2017-18 season.

Considering how close Igor and head coach Quin Snyder are and how respected he was throughout the organization, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jazz were interested in a reunion. However, as things currently sit, Utah doesn’t have a spot on their coaching staff to add him and it’s unlikely that anyone would simply be let go to make room for the former assistant coach.

That said, there may very well be an opening anyway as current Utah Jazz assistant Alex Jensen has recently been interviewing with a pair of teams for a head coaching gig. As first reported by The Athletic’s Tony Jones, Jensen interviewed for the coaching vacancy with the Memphis Grizzlies. It was later reported that he will also be interviewing for the head coaching gig with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As the former coach of the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ G-League affiliate team, it seems like there could very well be a fitting connection there. While things are far from solidified, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Jensen land an NBA head coaching gig sooner than later. He’s a superb coach and netting a pair of interviews this early into the process seems like an encouraging sign for him.

Such would definitely open the door for bringing Kokoskov back. And the Jazz organization should certainly aim to go that route. Transitioning back to Igor would be an easy adjustment helping to maintain continuity within the Jazz organization.

But let’s say Kokoskov opts to pursue a different opportunity elsewhere, wanting to leave his chapter with the Jazz behind him. Or perhaps the Jazz won’t want to reunite with the former coach, deciding to move on to new perspectives and fresh ideas rather than re-ignite a relationship that terminated a year ago. If such ended up being the case, then Utah would need to look elsewhere to fill Jensen’s spot. And one name that ought to be on their list of options is former Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel.

Vogel hadn’t been heard of much since being fired by the Magic a year ago, but recently he’s surfaced in coaching circles as a potential Los Angeles Lakers target. Originally when the Lakers seemed close to hiring Tyronn Lue as their new head coach, Frank Vogel was believed to be a potential assistant prospect. Now with the negotiations with Lue falling apart, Vogel is actually interviewing for the head coaching gig.

If he were offered that spot, he’d obviously be foolish to turn it down for an assistant gig. But if he doesn’t get the opportunity to fill that position, then the Jazz should absolutely consider him as an assistant coach, just as he was being considered previously by the Lakers. The fact that he’s being considered shows that he’s very much on the job market and as such could be attainable for the Jazz.

Vogel did a phenomenal job with the Indiana Pacers, leading them to two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014 where he was only stopped short by LeBron James and the mighty Miami Heat. They made the playoffs under his watch every single season save for the year following Paul George‘s devastating leg injury. He also posted a 431-250 (.580) regular season record with the Pacers.

There’s more to Vogel than just the playoff appearances and solid regular season record, though. Vogel’s coaching career began from the humblest of conditions as a video coordinator for Rick Pitino with both the Kentucky Wildcats and Boston Celtics. With that film background, Vogel has an insane eye for details and always excelled at the X’s and O’s with the Pacers, finding ways to attack and expose opponents’ weaknesses relentlessly.

This may be a long-shot, but his former work with Rick Pitino could serve as an interesting connection with Donovan Mitchell who played under Pitino at Louisville. If nothing else, it would give Frank an understanding of Donovan’s background and the style of play that helped develop him into the player he is today.

Speaking of development, Vogel was instrumental in taking guys like Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson and absolutely maximizing their potential. Hibbert was an All-Star in 2012 and 2014, but fell off dramatically after leaving the Pacers. Stephenson was on the cusp of becoming an All-Star in his best season in Indy in 2014, and has never returned to that level of play.

In other words, Vogel knows how to develop players and put them in situations where they can thrive and excel. That would be a perfect fit for the Utah Jazz who are known for finding diamonds in the rough and producing absolute studs from lesser known backgrounds. That sort of experience and track record speaks wonders to what Vogel could do on Quin Snyder’s staff that is already heavily centered on development.

Perhaps most important of all, those formidable Pacer teams that Vogel coached were built almost exclusively on defense. And, man, they were easily among the best of the decade on that end of the floor. They led the league in defensive rating in 2013 with a mark of 99.0 and were even better the next season at 98.9. For a little context, the best team this season was the Milwaukee Bucks at 104.9, a whopping six points per 100 possessions difference.

Sure, the league has changed so much even in that small window, but there’s no denying that the defense of those Pacers squads was other-worldy. Bringing that knowledge and ability to craft hard-nosed defense to an already daunting Jazz squad would be incredible.

After lauding Vogel with all this praise, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his years in Orlando.  Unfortunately those seasons weren’t all that impressive as he went just 54-110 and never made the playoffs. It was a tough transition for Vogel and a leading reason why he’s been without an NBA coaching gig the past season. However, the personnel and situation he was stuck with was less than favorable, and I strongly believe his success in Indiana greatly outweigh his struggles in Orlando.

Last of all, Frank Vogel was absolutely beloved by his players wherever he went, is about as good of a guy as you’ll ever meet and cares deeply about the game, his team and the success of his organization. The passion he has for coaching and the respect he gets from his players would be yet another excellent reason to have him on board with the Jazz.

Oh, yeah, and just for kicks, he also had a unique 15 minutes of fame in his youth for being able to do this:

What’s there not to love?!

There’s still a ton in the air for the Jazz to even consider looking at Frank Vogel. First off, there’s no guarantee that Alex Jensen will get a job elsewhere and he might very well be back in Utah for the 2019-20 season. If he does depart, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Igor Kokoskov get serious consideration and that would make all the sense in the world.

Even if Jensen leaves and Igor is a no-go, Frank Vogel might very well land a job as the new head coach of the Lakers. Seeing him coach LeBron after going head-to-head against him in so many intense playoff battles at the helm of the Pacers a few years back would be an intriguing development! Even if he doesn’t get the head coaching job, the Lakers may still be eyeing him for an assistant position or he could want to hold out for future head coaching opportunities.

There may also be other assistant options available for him this summer, or maybe the Jazz will simply want to go a different route, such as bringing in international talent as they did a year ago when they hired Fotis Katsikaris to replace the vacancy left by Kokoskov.

While there are so many options that could potentially play out, though, if the Jazz lose Jensen and miss out on Igor, they’d still be wise to strongly consider and go hard after Frank Vogel. His traits and past successes make him an extremely intriguing fit on the Jazz coaching staff.