Frank Vogel has cleared health and safety protocols and will return to the sidelines, the Lakers announced on Friday. He will return to the sideline for the team’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
During the nearly two weeks Vogel spent in isolation, assistant coach David Fizdale served as the interim head coach. Vogel entered health and safety protocols on Dec. 19 amidst the team’s outbreak at the time, eventually spending 11 days away from the team in total. The Lakers were 1-5 during that stretch.
Despite being isolated, Vogel was a regular part of the team’s coach's meetings, which were conducted over Zoom.