Can Harris Save Frank's Job?

This is not L fault. I have never seen a guy stay as focused as he can to try and get the most out of his players and take it one game at a time. With that said if L has got to go its probably wise to give the job to Kiki in the short term. At 0-13 likely going to 0-17 you just have to make a change for change sake.

All of us who have called for LFrank head in the past have seen him develop and become a capable NBA lead. I would like to see L coach with Tony Battie able to play, DH and Jarvis. I wonder how a capable big man in with Brook would help.

kiki the coach?…he might play najera 48 minutes when he returns…ah!

You can count on 0-18. Worst start ever. No way Frank is still our coach after this west coast trip.

my friends are making fun of me cuz the nets are 0-13..:(

No point in firing Frank except for the way he plays small ball. I suppose Kiki could be interim coach or else Berise, and thus not impact the budget.

Battie, not Harris could be the key. If Battie is healthy, it will be interesting to see if Frank still plays small ball – that is SWat at Center instead of PF. Battie and Boone should also battle for minutes at PF, besides backup Center.

Simmons should never play PF unless he first proves he can be a sharp shooter like last year.

If Frank’s decisions bother Thorn as much as they bother Nets fans, then maybe he would be fired.
However, first they must wait for a Court decision and thus have a future timetable and they must consult with Prokhorov too.

Ultimately, it would be Prokhorov making the decision, and quite Frankly (no pun intended), it makes Proky look better if the Nets have a terrible record when he officially takes over.

I don’t think his pink slip should depend on if we come back with ONE win on this road trip… It should depend on the fact he hasn’t won any up to this point. It should depend on the fact that he’s lost at least half the games he’s coached over the past 3 seasons and the fact that he couldn’t get this team anywhere, even with our former big 3. This isn’t high school, mediocrity, losing, and “trying REAL hard” doesn’t matter. It’s one thing if we went from 72-10 to this, we could say he’s been good before. He’s gone from 41 wins to 34 wins to ZERO wins. Not exactly a KEEP HIM trend.

JB, that’s the exact point. He’s been given years to win, and never has. Granted he hasn’t had the most stellar staff, but he’s had a decent one, and they’ve never achieved anything.

Great coaches get the most out of what they have. You cannot say that’s ever happened with Frank, and actually, you might say he gets a little less.

This change would not only be welcome, but it’s needed. Good luck finding another job in the NBA Larry.

I have thought the Nets have underachieved each season Frank has been the coach, with the possible exception of last season. I don’t really care if Frank or Kiki or Tom coaches the remainder of this season’s games, but next season I would like to see us get another head coach, someone established. I have gained a lot of respect for Fratello’s thought process as he analyzes the games on the air, and with him being a Jersey guy, it would be nice seeing him coach the team next year. I also would not mind Van Gundy. Before this season, I thought Paul Westphal was an undervalued coaching talent, and he is proving that sentiment to be right with what he is doing with the Kings.

actually, the losing began late last year. we’re not privy to what happened to this team in the locker or practice, but something happened. there was speculation then that frank lost this team and was hanging on a thread. the lineup was reshuffled and VC moved to SF, we finally got a W, and Frank’s job was safe again.

so actually, we have to realize the losing didn’t start with the injuries in November, it stretches back to last year. no well coached and prepared team goes 0-17+. frank is a good (asst) coach. but he has lost this team and he needs to go.

I’m sure there have been other teams with injuries, that’s the nature of the game. Frank cant be 0-13 and still have people using injuries as an excuse, sure it doesnt make it easy to win, but the fact is it’s not impossible to at least win ONE game with 8 players. Heck sometimes you can even steal a game from another team that you werent supposed to beat. D’antoni(by no means perfect) won a couple of games last year when the Knicks only had 8 players so there’s no reason why the Nets cant even win one. Frank should have been fired a couple of seasons ago, nevermind for reaching 0-17. If it would really and truely cause his termination, then I hope this team does go 0-17 just for the fact of getting rid of Frank. Then we’ll see if anyone picks him up as head coach besides Memphis, Toronto, or OKC.

1) Frank never should have been the coach in the first place – he is a video b reakdown guy, and apparently he is darn good at that to have ever gotten this far. Unfortumately we have J-Kidd to blame for his hiring and then a combination of factors for how he has possibly remained this long.

2) If he was going to be a “place-holder” coach, he most certainly should have been let go after Larry Brown undressed him in the 2004 Eastern Conference Semis (notably in Game 6 with NJ having a chance to clinch the series at home). It was quite obvious then that this team would never reach the heights it did when Byron Scott at least commanded some respect.

Unfortunately firing him now is essentially a mercy-killing and will have very little bearing on the team getting any better (except that maybe just maybe Sean will finally get a real chance to prove himself). We obviously will be stuck with some lame-duck assistant or similar 4th stringer for the rest of the year because this franchise is obviously not making any long-term decisions right now until the bigger picture debacle is totally sorted out. The sad truth is that we will win 15 games this season with Frank or without him. And we have Bruce Ratner to thank.

Rod Thorn should be a man and either fire Frank now or announce that Frank will be the coach for the rest of the season, no matter how bad the record gets.

there’s no reason to fire frank at this point unless the front office just wants to let him walk away from this with some dignity intact.

I’m not concerned if we end up with the worst start, it just makes sure we are headed for a solid pick in the draft, which we need more than a playoff berth

The owner is at fault as much if not more than the coach for this debacle. However, it doesn’t change my belief that Opie doesn’t know what it takes to win. I noticed that at the end of our time out he puts his hand up so everyone could join him as a sign of unity. It’s something that an amateur would do. It really doesn’t make a difference but it’s a sign of the level he’s at. I also noticed that the players are not going out of their way to endorse him. Not to say they won’t support him if asked or respect him when necessary but it still seems quiet on that front. I think if they don’t beat Sacramento, the worst team on the trip and we should have a couple of players back, he’s done.

Make the Rat coach!! He created this freaking mess!

Hollah!

I liked Dave D’s column “The Week Ahead”. I have to assume the prospect of LFrank being fired is as near as he says because he is a good supporter of LFrank and there is no reason he would stir the pot on the guy. It’s too bad because LFrank is a good coach. When they take away VC and leave you with Yi and Simmons and Hassell and Boone and Alston and expect you to compete – wow. Crazy. Looking back, I wish we had accepted the Alston, Battie and Pietrus offer for VC. We’d have won a couple of games by now with Pietrus and Anderson playing instead of Lee who has beenpatehtic even when he took the floor. Well, LFrank did get them to compete almost every game. The big disappointment besides MIA and NYK and blowing the game in MN was obviously losing to WSH without Butler and Jamison. Not clear coaching was the issue there as opposed to just the pure lack of talent. One thing Dave D fails to mention is that the Nets have fired their advance scouts which certainly limits a coach’s tools for prepping for an opponent.

Firing Frank will do nothing…absolutely nothing. You think someone can come in here and make a contender out of nothing? You think someone can cure a groin or an ankle, or a bad back? You’d need a witch doctor. You need a mental health doctor to get these losers a new desire to win.

Starting lineup tomorrow should be;

Harris
CDR
T-Will
Swat
Lopez

Lee coming off bench.

You have to start your best players, period.

I really don’t want to see Hassel or Simmons starting.

LMAO. On what basis could you POSSIBLY say that Sean Williams is one of the “best players” on the team? The guy is clueless who couldn’t even be an average D-Leaguer, and he flipped out as a result.

@Mike Says:

Well your lineup choice is improving and I like it. T.Williams should be moved to the second when J.Hayes comes back healty.
Seond Unit When Healthy:

PG/K.DOOLING
SG/C.LEE
SF/T.WILLIAMS
C/T.BATTIE
PF/YI.JIANLIAN

I know people are thinking about the draft and getting the #1-#4 pick and all, but we can still get the #1-#4 pick without going 0-60. We’re already in a position to be at the low end of the win spectrum so at this point it isnt even about the top pick anymore. The team with the worst record usually doesnt win the #1 pick anyway, so it’s not really something to look forward to. Since he has been here there have always been games each season where you watch and you say “Frank cost us this game”. It doesnt matter if your roster doesnt have the talent, what matters is getting the most out of what you have. Even when I watch other coaches with bad teams I usually dont feel like the coach cost them the game, they usually lose just because the other team was better. Frank needs to go, even if we win 18 games without him, i’d rather win 18 without him than 15 with him.

Here’s the marching orders:
Fire Frank
Fire Kiki
Trade Yi

@Sophie’s Dad;
  I’m not a big Swat supporter. If Swat starts and plays well, that would be a bonus. Otherwise you bring in Boone. I’m tired of seeing “small” players at the PF spot. Who else do you want at PF? Hassel, Simmons, Najera, T-Will?

who would want to save his job?
I bet all the players hate him or love him cause he doesnt go hard on them at practice

Another thing, getting rid of Frank asap at least allows the team to get his system out of place before a new coach comes in. No need to waste time playing 69 more games of small ball, when another coach (hopefully by the grace of God) wont be using small ball anyway. Get these guys in defined roles, which Larry Frank hasnt done in 6 seasons, and let them get used to their role within the team. I dont wanna see the guys lose the will to win before another coach has a chance to show them how to get it done.

well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? The only thing that Sean has on those guys is his vertical reach. Why would a taller guy at PF necessarily make the team better, if that player is hopelessly out of position and can’t shoot? Frank plays Simmons because the team has no three-point shooting, and he is trying to open up the paint to make it harder to double Lopez. The opposition doesn’t even have to guard Sean Williams! And you can’t play both Sean and Boone at PF—who is your backup center? What do you do if Brook gets into foul trouble?

@Sophie’s Dad;
    You sound like Frank. Always worrying about “what will happen if”. If Brook gets into foul trouble we probably are not going to win anyway. I want to win the game, not stay close. I agree with you that Sean Williams leaves a lot to be desired, but so does anybody else we put there, including Yi.

@Sophie’s dad
The other team doesnt have to guard Simmons either, the guy shoots 0-7 pretty consistently. Sean and Boone are the only real choices for PF until Yi comes back. You pretty much have to give Sean or Boone the starting PF spot and then have them back up Lopez as they can. Sean is a better rebounder than the other guys we play at PF except Boone and he’s a shot blocker which makes teams at least think about him being near the rim. Even when he’s out of position if you watch him he reacts very quickly and he has long arms which help him to recover. Boone would be a good choice also if he could at least shoot 60% at the FT line and not blow lay-ups and dunks simply because he’s scared of being fouled. I’m not saying Sean is the greatest PF in the NBA, but you have to work with what you have and out of the guys available he probably is the best choice for PF right now.

Thorn just let the man go because the Nets will not win a game on this west coast trip and 0-13 looks better than 0-18 on your resume.

You have a plan, and that’s good. However, Sean is a foul machine. He fouled out against the Knicks in just 16 minutes, and over his last six games, spanning exactly 90 minutes (roughly two whole games) he has committed 18 fouls. We need to keep this in mind before committing to Sean as a starter. Once he fouls out—which he would approximately at the end of the first half if he was a starter—that would leave just Boone and Lopez, unless you were willing to put Hassell or Simmons in as a PF. . . . which is where they’d certainly be during the critical last five or ten minutes of the game.

Start Sean Williams. You will know very quickly if he is playing well or not. If he’s playing poorly, then you can bring in Boone. If you need Boone to backup Lopez, bring in your usual suspects. (Simmons, Hassel etc)

On the other hand, if Sean plays well your ahead of the game.
What do we got to lose anyway, another game?

It time for Sean Williams to step up. Give him enough rope and maybe he will confirm our belief that he’s not very good.
On the other hand…

@Sophie’s dad
Did you watch the Knicks game? 2 or 3 of those fouls were on Bogus calls by the refs, same with Lopez. 18 fouls in 6 games is an avg of 3 fouls per game, that’s not exactly bad, esp for a PF or Center who is a shot-blocker. I would also bet that Sean would pick up less fouls playing PF, where he should be anyway, than trying to defend Centers. Not to mention maybe with more time on the court game by game he might be able to gain experience and learn how to avoid more unncessary fouls. I agree with Mike, we have NOTHING to lose at this point. Why not shake it up for 3 games and see if anything good happens? If it doesnt, then oh well it’s just another 3 losses for the season, it’s not like this is a 60 win team.

All this talk about who to start at PF actually makes me miss Yi.

He could spread the floor with his shot, (this season) he could take it to the basket, and he could rebound well enough for us.

Now if he only had that defense down….

@ Sophie’s Dad

How many minutes out of those 90 did Swat play PF and how many fouls did he have? If you’re playing out of position and the only one on the team capable of playing D, you try and stay out of foul trouble. Imo it’s a testament to his ability that under those circumstances he still is able to be a factor. As far as the last 5 or 10 minutes of the game when was the last time you didn’t see Hassel or Simmons on the court? And what’s our record? Also, let me know when defense creeps into your assessment of Swat.

@TheMann;
 “Get these guys in defined roles, which Larry Frank hasnt done in 6 seasons, and let them get used to their role within the team”.

 Couldn’t agree more. Wait till we got all our players back, and Frank can really go to town. He will have more lineups and shuffling going on, it will make our heads spin.

Even the WSJ has moticed the Nets’ plight to date. Don’t know where any of this is going, but it can’t be good.

Mike,
the hysterical thing about this stance—and I know many others share it, it isn’t just you—is that for the first few years he was the coach, the biggest complaint was that he DIDN’T shuffle. He used the same lineup and same rotations regardless of the opposition. Fans can’t have it both ways.

First, all teams will shuffle a lot at the beginning of the season, as they continue to get a feel for who can contribute and in what ways. Second, the Nets roster is a complete mess right now.

Also, remember that last year Simmons was a terrific three-point shooter. The Nets need three-point shooting, because that’s the way the NBA is played these days, and other than him, they have no one on the roster that is even capable of sniffing 40% from behind the arc. It would be great if there was someone like, say, Ryan Anderson on the bench ready to take over that spot.

What position does CDR play?
What position does T-Will play?
What position does Boone play?
What position does Swat play?
What position does Hassel play?
What position does Simmons play?

Lopez plays center.
Harris plays PG.

I know we had injuries, but even when our players come back,
I will probably still be asking these questions.

With all these “swing” players, no wonder we’re swinging from a tree.

@Sophie’s dad
Yeah, last year after he was moved to the bench, he became a solid 3 pt shooter at the SF spot. Last year doesnt help this year, THIS year he’s shooting 35% FG and 29% 3 pointers. So we’re not getting what you say he’s providing anyway, so why bother to play him at PF? Even in pre-season he was shooting horribly, I think permanent BUM-itis has set in on Simmons.

Starting Sean Williams is an absolute joke. The guy can’t seem to stay in the game for more than 4 minutes at a time. He is so clueless out there, just jumping all over the place, landing on our own players. I hate to say it, but I’d rather have najera just because he’s more controlled and makes us just look better on the court. Look not play.

@NetsDaily
I dont know if you can look it up, but out of curiosity how many of those minutes did Sean play at PF and how many at C?

The only way Sean Williams is going to learn how to play, is by playing him. If you don’t want him playing, don’t play him at all. Same thing goes for Yi and Boone and Lee and T-Will and CDR. Maybe if you start him he will learn to keep his fouls down. Coming in for a few minutes here and there, it doesn’t really matter if he picks up fouls. Watch him go to another team and blossom. I don’t think that will happen, but I would rather give him the chance to prove me wrong, then finding out later that he was a late bloomer.

@NetsDaily
actually it does in part make a difference. As the Center you are the anchor of the defense, as a PF you can be the help defender. That’s where a shot blocker normally excels as far as big men go, they are better at blocking shots coming over to help. I believe even fratello touched on it the other night, most shot blockers don’t block their own man, I’ve usually known that to be true. Also Sean is undersized, he’s about 6’8 and thin, he can get out muscled and moved by Centers easily. When you’re outsized you can get in the habit of reaching and grabbing to make up for it which is also an easy way to pick up fouls. Once again I’m not saying Sean is a star waiting to happen, but on a team in the basement it wouldn’t hurt to try for a few games just to see what happens

Well, I guess we can’t win then. Sean Williams stinks, Yi stinks, CDR is a ball hog, Harris is not a true point guard, T-Will can’t shoot, Simmons, Hassel and Alston are not in our future plans, Lee is overrated and under sized, Lopez can’t rebound, Boone is a joke, Battie and Najera never play.

Poor little ole Lawrence Frank. If I was him I would ask for a raise.

In fact Opie should sue the Nets for mental cruelty. And to think they are only paying him four million and change.

That was an awesome article by Dave D. on coach Frank. Points out the root of this mess perfectly, and it ain’t on the coach in the least. Actually as a Frank supporter, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of letting him go. Not because I don’t think he’s a good coach and tireless worker, but because I think he deserves better than this, from the organization and the fans. I bet anyone he lands on his feet quickly, so it would be better for him to get out now rather than later, even though after the West Coast trip the Nets do finally have a realistic shot of putting some wins together.

By the way, how silly is it to talk about keeping a guy if he’s 2-15 vs. 0-17? I mean what’s the difference, really? All signs in the organization point toward next season anyway. This year simply doesn’t matter. I guess you want to avoid the infamy of the worst start, but that’s kind of overrated. You don’t really remember starts. If they finished with the worst record in NBA history overall that might be a little different, but once the guys get healthy I’m sure they will avoid that easily. If they have to play 8 guys all year, not so sure, lol.

@ A.M.

If Frank stays I do fear the Nets will end with the worst record in NBA history.

Firing lawrence can’t cure the injuries, but could cure the symptom: “Small Ball”, “Lack of Defense”, “Bad development of Youngsters”, “big lead collapse”…etc

What’s the difference between firing lawrence frank or Not if they still stink anyway?

the answer is clear: it’s about the frame of mind.

We want to watch the basketball more happily, could we ask that we don’t want to be so upset after we blow out 25 point lead most of the game? and we DON’T want to see that Sean Williams plays the C with Hassell or Simmons as the PF?

We want to see Lopez with Sean Williams ! Yeah, we know Frank finally starts to do this ! But do you still remember he never played Sean and Lopez or Boone and Lopez together last season? Other than Yi was starting at PF, when Yi went to the bench, Simmons and Hassell were going to play the PF or Ryan Anderson.

We want to watch a normal basketball game! if Small Ball can’t help you win the game, why can’t you change the game strategy?

Frank doesn’t need other people to save him, he just has to listen to the fans.

STOP PLAYING SMALL BALL, PLAY THE PLAYERS at their natural position, please?

They need to start Lopez-Boone-Williams-CDR-Harris

Let Lee and Alston come off the bench. I don’t want to see CDR defending small forwards, he’s a natural 2 guard and he’s the better player. After watching saturday’s game i think Harris and CDR can co exist, Harris was actually trying play as a PG and not a SG and that will benefit this team in the long run, Harris can also save his body that way since CDR gets to the rim at will.

I am not sure about Dave D. He has been analyzing NETS for a decade already. For the the last 6 years NETS have degraded. I don’t think we need to listen anymore. Getting rid of Frank had been a part of the solution but unfortunately it did not happen. To say that Frank shouldn’t be blame for all of this because we have a lousy team is ridiculous. The reason why we have a lousy team now because he was not able to do anything with previous better line-up. Whether it was his fault or not, the reality is, it did not work and should terminate now and look for another solution. That’s why the owner is selling the team, owner don’t want to lose revenue anymore, getting rid of frank and making him stay doesn’t solve the problem but at least if he sells the team then he’ll be happier. But for FANS perspective it will make me more happy to see him go. You know you don’t reward somebody who has not done something proportionate to $4.5 M. Fire him that gives me some moral victory at least.

@ TheMann

Before Sean got any minutes, we were among the top 10 defensively.

That’s why defense isn’t stressed as much.

If you think Harris is going to turn this around, you’re wrong. The teams are going to focus on him now that Carter’s gone.

I agree CDR should start with Lee coming off the bench. CDR has proven himself, Lee has not.

I don’t think Battie is going to make any difference either. He’s not an impact player. Hayes and Dooling are missed because they can score.

As far as Lawrence Frank is concerned – I’m surprised he’s still there. I am sick of watching him walk on to the court at every stoppage of play with his back to the camera looking at his papers. He just looks just plain silly.

I don’t know if they could beat the Nuggets or Blazers, but they should be able to beat the Kings.

@ Netsdaily

Regarding Swat “And more often than not, he’s committing a foul or leaving himself out of position.”

I would never discourage a player from trying to influence shots and some fouls were the result of trying to take a charge. Furthermore, how many times did he make the opposition miss or get forced out of the lane with intimidation. Not something you’re going to see in a box score. Remember he’s played 20 minutes at PF since his rookie year.

“And it shouldn’t really matter. It’s not like his defensive discipline is determined by the position he’s playing.”

It absolutely makes a difference with this coach. We have the worst defensive PFs in the league even when we’re healthy so you have an undersized center with no help as TheMann pointed out. There isn’t a bigger reason on the court as to why we lose. A coach’s decision.

@jarkid – Amen…..

I would like this to be our starting lineup:

Devin
CDR
Terrence
Sean
Brook

“Frank plays Simmons because the team has no three-point shooting, and he is trying to open up the paint to make it harder to double Lopez.”

Simmons is shooting .289 from beyond the arc. What problem does he solve? Give me a break. The guy doesn’t hit open shots, can’t defend PFs and can’t box out bigger guys. Playing him at the 4 is absolutely unexcusable. Stop defending Opie for being this stubborn, it’s getting ridiculous.