Nets' Frank enjoying the moment
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, February 25
Apparently, winning every single game isn't quite enough for the New Jersey Nets' front office.
Since taking over as head coach of the team, Lawrence Frank has gone 13-0, winning by an average of 12.7 points per game as the Nets have gone from a mediocre 22-20 to 35-20 and second-place in the Eastern Conference.
They are, no doubt, the hottest team in the NBA, an almost certain playoff contender and, perhaps, the favorite to return to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row.
The problem, though, is that Frank is still listed as the "interim" head coach and does not have a contract that extends beyond this season.
"I don't have any concern about that," said Frank in the New York Daily News. "The only concern that we have is the team. We're not concerned about contracts, whatever. It's totally irrelevant to what we're trying to get done."
But ESPN understands the magnitude of the 13-0 streak, the longest in professional sports history by a new coach. They sent their Outside The Lines crew over to the Nets' locker room to get the story. CNBC was already there, as was CNN.
Interim coach Lawrence Frank's stock elevates with each record-setting Nets victory.
Perhaps they've forgotten that they are, indeed, the New Jersey Nets, proud owners of a 903-1,279 franchise record. In their 27 years as an NBA club, they've had only nine winning seasons. An average season has them finishing at 34-48.
They almost lost Jason Kidd to free agency last year. They could lose Kenyon Martin the free agency next year.
This year, they are on course to go 53-29, which would be the best season record in franchise history.
Or maybe they've forgotten that Frank's best friend is Andy Miller. You might not know him from Adam, but Kevin Garnett does. He's the agent who got KG the highest salary in NBA history, a contract that will pay the Timberwolves forward $28 million this season alone.
More than Shaq. More than Tim Duncan. More than anyone else in the entire NBA.
Maybe you haven't heard that, as an 11-year-old, Frank saved up his paper route money to buy a video recorder to tape Knicks games so that he could sketch out plays. Or, as the Baltimore Sun continues, he coached the local Catholic Youth team despite being Jewish. Or that he was his high school's assistant coach despite being cut three times from the team. Or that he went to Indiana not to play but to learn coaching from Bobby Knight.
This guy was born to coach. All he wants to do is coach. You get the distinct feeling that he would be just as happy to coach a pee wee team as any NBA team so long as it was basketball.
How about the Hawks? Or the Celtics? Or the Sixers? Or the Bulls? Or the Magic?
And that's just the Eastern Conference jobs that will be available this summer.
So, the problem isn't that Frank looks perfectly at peace with himself and his situation. The problem, for Nets fans, anyway, is that the Nets' front office also looks at peace despite the situation.
"That will take care of itself," Nets CEO Rod Thorn said.
By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, February 25
Apparently, winning every single game isn't quite enough for the New Jersey Nets' front office.
Since taking over as head coach of the team, Lawrence Frank has gone 13-0, winning by an average of 12.7 points per game as the Nets have gone from a mediocre 22-20 to 35-20 and second-place in the Eastern Conference.
They are, no doubt, the hottest team in the NBA, an almost certain playoff contender and, perhaps, the favorite to return to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row.
The problem, though, is that Frank is still listed as the "interim" head coach and does not have a contract that extends beyond this season.
"I don't have any concern about that," said Frank in the New York Daily News. "The only concern that we have is the team. We're not concerned about contracts, whatever. It's totally irrelevant to what we're trying to get done."
But ESPN understands the magnitude of the 13-0 streak, the longest in professional sports history by a new coach. They sent their Outside The Lines crew over to the Nets' locker room to get the story. CNBC was already there, as was CNN.
Interim coach Lawrence Frank's stock elevates with each record-setting Nets victory.
Perhaps they've forgotten that they are, indeed, the New Jersey Nets, proud owners of a 903-1,279 franchise record. In their 27 years as an NBA club, they've had only nine winning seasons. An average season has them finishing at 34-48.
They almost lost Jason Kidd to free agency last year. They could lose Kenyon Martin the free agency next year.
This year, they are on course to go 53-29, which would be the best season record in franchise history.
Or maybe they've forgotten that Frank's best friend is Andy Miller. You might not know him from Adam, but Kevin Garnett does. He's the agent who got KG the highest salary in NBA history, a contract that will pay the Timberwolves forward $28 million this season alone.
More than Shaq. More than Tim Duncan. More than anyone else in the entire NBA.
Maybe you haven't heard that, as an 11-year-old, Frank saved up his paper route money to buy a video recorder to tape Knicks games so that he could sketch out plays. Or, as the Baltimore Sun continues, he coached the local Catholic Youth team despite being Jewish. Or that he was his high school's assistant coach despite being cut three times from the team. Or that he went to Indiana not to play but to learn coaching from Bobby Knight.
This guy was born to coach. All he wants to do is coach. You get the distinct feeling that he would be just as happy to coach a pee wee team as any NBA team so long as it was basketball.
How about the Hawks? Or the Celtics? Or the Sixers? Or the Bulls? Or the Magic?
And that's just the Eastern Conference jobs that will be available this summer.
So, the problem isn't that Frank looks perfectly at peace with himself and his situation. The problem, for Nets fans, anyway, is that the Nets' front office also looks at peace despite the situation.
"That will take care of itself," Nets CEO Rod Thorn said.
