Lawrence Frank is on the verge of receiving an offer to return to the NBA’s head coaching ranks, emerging as the top choice of the Detroit Pistons, league sources confirmed last night.
Frank, who compiled a 225-241 record with the Nets in five full seasons and parts of two others, could receive an offer as soon as today. The story first was reported by Yahoo! Sports. Frank did not return calls last night seeking comment.
Frank served as an assistant to Doc Rivers in Boston this past season following his firing from the Nets in November, 2009 as the team limped out to its historically bad 0-18 start. The Nets, in a massive rebuilding, re-tooling, re-structuring mode — and they were broke — were 0-16 at the time of Frank’s dismissal.
On his watch, the Nets were in the playoffs four times, winning the Atlantic Division twice before they were systematically dismantled in assorted cost-cutting moves.
Frank would replace John Kuester, one of his former assistants, in Detroit. Kuester was fired last month after a dysfunctional 30-52 season. Frank is regarded as a preparation master and non-stop worker.
“He is such an attention- to-detail coach. He’s funny as hell. He’s been great for the staff. He has done a spectacular job,” Rivers said of Frank during the playoffs.
“He comes in here and our defense has been set, we have a bunch of veterans that are set in their ways — ‘we do it this way.’ And for him, he had to make sure we kept doing that. Then improve it. And Lawrence did that.
“As much as you say about our defense, our numbers (were) better than last year. Lawrence Frank is the reason.”