Nets Must Fire Head Coach Lawrence Frank
Time For New Jersey Nets To Head In A New Direction
As hard as it is to believe, Nets head coach Lawrence Frank is the longest tenured head coach in the NBA Eastern Conference. The time has come, however, for his reign to end.
The Lawrence Frank Era
Lawrence Frank took over in the 2003-04 season. He replaced a coach in Byron Scott, who led the Nets to two consecutive NBA finals. It started out great as Frank won his first 13 games, but it has been all downhill since. The Nets have gotten progressively worse every year under Frank. They missed the playoffs last year and will miss them again this year. The team pretty much quit on him down the stretch the last two years, a sure sign that a head coach must go.
The 2008-09 Expectations
The expectations for the Nets this season were very low. Nobody thought they were a playoff team. Things change, however. Devin Harris emerged as an NBA all-star, Vince Carter had a resurgence, Brook Lopez emerged as one of the league's best rookies, and Keyan Dooling and Jarvis Hayes emerged as two of the best bench players in the league. By the all-star break the Nets were a team that was expected to be in the playoffs. The team, however, has not responded to Frank in the second half of the season. They have had trouble finishing games and the chemistry has not been there. The team has been poor defensively, something that has been a recurring problem under Lawrence Frank.
The Final Nail in Frank's Coffin
The last two games should be the final nail in Lawrence Frank's coffin. First, on Sunday afternoon, they played the Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota had lost 23 of 26 and seven straight and was without its best player, Al Jefferson, yet the Nets, fighting for their playoff lives, played a lackluster game and went down without a whimper. At that point it looked like things couldn't get any worse, but somehow they did. The next night, they played the Milwaukee Bucks at home. The Bucks were a depleted team that had lost 14 of 18 and five straight. In a pathetic display, the Nets never showed up and the game was over by the end of the first quarter. The Nets had clearly quit on their head coach.
Possible Replacements
Lawrence Frank is a nice guy but the team is just not responding to him. If the fans can clearly see this, team president Rod Thorn must see it too. Hopefully he will do the right thing after the season and let Frank go. So, who should replace him? Mark Jackson should definitely be considered. He has a very high basketball IQ and having played in the league for a long time, would have the respect of his players. It would also be a way to rub it in the rival New York Knicks' faces who passed him over for their head coaching job. Another candidate should be assistant Brian Hill. He has head coaching experience and did a good job in his two stints a Orlando and he is already familiar with the players.
The Nets have the talent to become a contender once again, but they need somebody who can lead them. Whoever, the head coach of the Nets is next season, one thing is clear, it should not be Lawrence Frank.
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