Lawrence Frank Revisited…Again
Nov 30, 2009 Front Office, Lawrence Frank
Mark already did a great job looking back at the Lawrence Frank era and looking at who could be next, but I figured I should throw something up on the subject. And by throw something up, I mean post my Lawrence Frank offseason post for the third time. I think it is pretty relevant, plus I know for a fact that we have more readers than we did when I posted it the first two times. Also, at the end, I put some of my observations from this year and compared them to years past. So if you already read this twice, you can just skip to the end.
Lawrence Frank Has Lost Whatever “Magic” He Had
Nov 3, 2009 Analysis, Coaching, Front Office, Lawrence Frank, Nets vs. Bobcats, Nets vs. Magic, Nets vs. Timberwolves, Nets vs. Wizards, Opinion, Xs and Os
Going into this season, Lawrence Frank’s record record as a coach was 225-225. Exactly .500. After last night’s loss, Lawrence Frank is now 4 games under .500 for his coaching career. This season’s start has taken him from a winning coach to a losing coach, and whatever “grace period” his magical start to his coaching career bought him is now fading away. A lot of Lawrence Frank supporters (are there even any of those anymore) point to that 14-0 start as an example for what type of coach he is. Frank’s trip below .500 proves that this might not be the case. This being said, I am not delusional. I wasn’t expecting the Nets to be 4-0 right now, but with what is going on right now (we scored 7 points in a quarter against the Bobcats) you need to look at the coach for an explanation. When you do that, you find that Lawrence Frank is responsible for a whole lot of head-scratching moves in this short season:
Rotations
I don’t know if it is just me, but these rotations just seem off. I know the Nets are young, and they have been hit with a bunch of injuries, but even still. When you have a young team (and the Nets are indeed young, they have the youngest starting lineup in the NBA), it is the coaches job to put his team in positions that make being successful easier. It is like Lawrence Frank is trying to do the exact opposite.
Some examples after the jump:
NJ Nets’ Weekend Wrap-Up
May 19, 2009 2009 Draft, 2009 Offseason, Brooklyn, Front Office, Links, Prudential Center, Rod Thorn
There was actually a lot of Nets news this weekend, and I know I should have gotten to it earlier, but I was too busy shattering my ankle in 5 spots (OK, it is just a sprain, but it really really hurts :/). Here is a quick little recap and some links about the news that happened over the weekend.
- First and foremost: Rod Thorn will be representing the Nets at the draft lottery. Who knows, maybe the man who drafted MJ will have some luck rub off on the Nets?
- The Atlantic Yards project took a step in the right direction. Landowners and tenants were rebuffed by the state appellate court in a case that contested the use of eminent domain for the project. This case was was against New York State and not Ratner, but it is still a big win. The decision narrows the legal options for opponents of the project, who have successfully delayed it through the courts to a point where the entire project’s financial viability is now in question amid the broader economic crisis.
- The Nets first prospect list is in. There are a lot of the big guys that I would like to see us drafted there, but there are way too many guards there for my liking. I hope we aren’t considering a guard.
- Yi might get traded. Well, the Nets are at least considering it. In my opinion, this is too much of a knee-jerk reaction. Yi was playing well before the pinky injury, and he needs some time to heal. That being said, if he starts to struggle again, and we can move him for something valuble, I say why not.
- Boki is a free agent now. He has previously mentioned his desire to rejoin the Nets, s0 who knows what will happen. I don’t really think he “fits” with the team the way it is currently assembled, but Boki is very talented, and adding a talented player to your roster isn’t a bad thing. I guess what I am saying is that I wouldn’t understand the signing too much, but I wouldn’t be pissed about it.
- NJNets.com has started up their Draft Central. There is a lot of interesting stuff in there. My personal favorite is Gregg Polinsky’s blog.
- Bill Bradley and I are on the same page…at least on topic of where the Nets should play. I have mentioned earlier that the Nets should be playing in Newark if they can’t get the Brooklyn situation straightened out. Bradley takes it a step further. He thinks that the Nets should be playing in Newark instead of Brooklyn.
- The Nets are looking at PGs (It is in the interview towards the middle). This is baffling to me. We already have an All-Star PG, so why draft a PG when you have such a glaring whole at the PF spot? Who knows. After tonight we will know where we stand in terms of Draft Order, and hopefully we will get a better idea of who we are drafting.
Tonight, I will be live-blogging the Draft Lottery via Cover It Live. It will start around the same time of the game tomorrow, so if you want to chat about the game, or more importantly the lottery, just make your way over.
Some Nets Lottery Stuff
May 15, 2009 2009 Draft, Draft Lottery, Front Office, Jay-Z
The draft lottery is this Sunday Tuesday night, and my last post until Monday will be just some bulleted stuff about the draft lottery.
- Still no word on who we are sending to the draft, I think it will be Jay-Z again, but there are no sure things. According to NetsDaily, we will be sending Rod Thorn.
- I wouldn’t put it past Thorn to send Brook or VC. Some teams have sent players in the past, (I believe Kevin Durant went last year for the Thunder) and I would be interesting to see a guy like Brook there.
- The people over at DailyThunder.com go into great depth about the history of the draft lottery. It is a real interesting read, and it should give us Nets’ fans some hope!
- Ben Couch (NJnets.com writer, but you should already know that) will be reporting live from the Draft Lottery Tuesday night on twitter. You can find it right over here.
I am still undecided with what I am going to do for the Draft Lottery, I am thinking about having either a live-blog, or a live chat. Either way, when I know I will let you guys know. If you think I should do one or the other, leave some opinions in the comments.
Nets’ Draft Picks Since 1989
May 12, 2009 Draft, Front Office, Rookies
While reading through 82games.com’s draft stuff, I came across their article about the best and the worst drafting teams. I was actually surprised to see how low the Nets were in their list, as they were ranked 24th. After looking over all of our draft picks since 1989, you see why we were so low.
Obviously last year’s draft wasn’t really counted in the rankings (I say we had the best draft last year) and when we were making the Finals in the early 2000s, you can’t really expect much from the draft (plus they were working towards improving in the present, rather than looking towards the future). Even in the 90s though when we were getting top 10 picks constantly, we weren’t getting much from our players. Sure some guys went on to have solid careers, but they never really contributed with the Nets. Here is the list along with their numbers as a member of the New Jersey Nets.
- 1989 -
-1st round/12th pick – Mookie Blaylock – 194 GP/154 GS/32.9 MPG/12.9 PPG/3.3 RPG/5.9 APG
-2nd round/32nd pick - Stanley Brundy – 16 GP/0 GS/8 MPG/2.3 PPG/1.6 RPG/0.2 APG
- 1990-
-1st round/1st pick – Derrick Coleman – 348 GP/330 GS/35.8 MPG/19.9 PPG/10.6 RPG/3.1 APG
-1st round/22nd pick – Tate George – 174 GP/14 GS/11.6 MPG/4.2 PPG/1 RPG/1.9 APG
- 1991-
-1st round/2nd pick – Kenny Anderson – 303 GP/248 GS/32.9 MPG/15.4 PPG/3.4 RPG/7.8 APG
-2nd round/53rd pick – Von McDade – Never Played In The NBA
- 1992-
-2nd round/29rd pick – P.J. Brown – 240 GP/198 GS/30.7 MPG/8.4 PPG/6.4 RPG/1.6 APG
-2nd round/40th pick – Steve Rogers – Never Played In The NBA
- 1993-
-1st round/16th pick – Rex Walters – 139 GP/30 GS/13.7 MPG/5.2 PPG/1.0 RPG/1.5 APG
-2nd round/36th pick – John Best – Never Played In The NBA
- 1994-
-1st round/14th pick – Yinka Dare – 110 GP/25 GS/9.1 MPG/2.1 PPG/1.6 RPG/0.04 APG
- 1995-
-1st round/9th pick – Ed O’Bannon – 109 GP/34 GS/17.3 MPG/5.4 PPG/2.6 RPG/0.8 APG
- 1996-
-1st round/8th pick – Kerry Kittles – 496 GP/455 GS/33.6 MPG/14.3 PPG/3.9 RPG/2.6 APG
- 1997-
-1st round/2nd pick (via trade) – Keith Van Horn – 314 GP/312 GS/34.7 MPG/18.2 PPG/7.6 RPG/1.8 APG
- 1998 (no picks)-
- 1999-
-2nd round/34th pick – Evan Eschmeyer – 105 GP/56 GS/16.2 MPG/3.2 PPG/4.5 RPG/0.6 APG
- 2000-
-1st round/1st pick – Kenyon Martin – 283 GP/283 GS/33.1 MPG/15.1 PPG/7.6 RPG/2.4 APG
-2nd round/36th pick – Soumaila Samake – 34 GP/0 GS/6.6 MPG/1.4 PPG/1.6 RPG/0.0 APG
- 2001-
-1st round/13th pick (via trade) Richard Jefferson- 489 GP/417 GS/35.8 MPG/17.4 PPG/5.4 RPG/3.0 APG
-1st round/18th pick (via trade) Jason Collins – 511 GP/404 GS/24.4 MPG/10.3 PPG/4.6 RPG/1.1 APG
-1st round/23rd pick (via trade) Brandon Armstrong – 108 GP/0 GS/6.5 MPG/2.2 PPG/0.6 RPG/0.2 APG
-2nd round/34th pick – Brian Scalabrine – 210 GP/23 GS/14.8 MPG/3.9 PPG/2.9 RPG/1.0 APG
- 2002-
-1st round/24th pick – Nenad Kristic – 226 GP/201 GS/27.0 MPG/11.3 PPG/5.7 RPG/1.1 APG
-2nd round/53rd pick – Tamar Slay – 58 GP/0 GS/7.6 MPG/2.5 PPG/0.97 RPG/0.48 APG
- 2003-
-1st round/22nd pick – Zoran Planinic – 148 GP/10 GS/10.7 MPG/3.8 PPG/1.3 RPG/1.1 APG
- 2004-
-2nd round/51st pick – Christian Drejer – Never Played In The NBA
- 2005-
-1st round/15th pick – Antoine Wright – 143 GP/43 GS/17.9 MPG/4.6 PPG/2.3 RPG/0.9 APG
-2nd round/43rd pick – Mile Ilic – 5 GP/0 GS/1.2 MPG/0.0 PPG/0.2 RPG/0.0 APG
- 2006-
-1st round/22nd pick – Marcus Williams -132 GP/9 GS/16.4 MPG/6.4 PPG/2 RPG/3.0 APG
-1st round/23rd pick – Josh Boone – 193 GP/60 GS/17.8 MPG/5.6 PPG/4.9 RPG/0.5 APG
-2nd round/54th pick – Hassan Adams – 61 GP/8 GS/8.1 MPG/2.9 PPG/1.3 RPG/0.2 APG
- 2007-
-1st round/17th pick – Sean Williams – 106 GP/29 GS/15.5 MPG/4.6 PPG/3.8 RPG/0.4 APG
- 2008-
-1st round/11th pick – Brook Lopez – 82 GP/75 GS/30.5 MPG/13.0 PPG/8.1 RPG/1.0 APG
-1st round/21st pick – Ryan Anderson – 66 GP/30 GS/19.9 MPG/7.4 PPG/4.7 RPG/0.8 APG
-2nd round/40th pick – Chris Douglas-Roberts – 44 GP/3 GS/13.3 MPG/4.9 PPG/1.1 RPG/1.2 APG
—
Looking back on the picks, you can see why we ended up being ranked 24th. From 1993 to 1996 our first round picks included Rex Walters, Yinka Dare, and Ed O’ Bannon. That is just horrendous. On a positive note though, we robbed Houston blind in 2001. That year we traded the draft rights of Eddie Griffin (originally our pick at #7) for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong. That is 1 borderline superstar and 2 serviceable players for one bust.
Looking at 2000 on, there aren’t a lot of great picks there either. In fact, only 5 out of 19 players drafted after 2000 are still with the team. There is a reason for this though, and that is up until last year we were picking for the future. We had plenty of talent (and were not in rebuilding mode yet), and we didn’t need guys to get in there and help right away. That changed last year, and now we are drafting with the present in mind, looking for guys that can contribute right away. We need to continue this train of thought during this year’s draft.
Lawrence Frank Will Start Next Year As The Nets Coach
Apr 29, 2009 2009 Offseason, Front Office, Lawrence Frank, Opinion, Rod Thorn, Sucks
Rod Thorn announced Wednesday that he will keep Frank and have him return for the final year of his contract at $4.5 million. Here is what Thorn said about it:
“We are very happy to have him, and as far as we’re concerned, we’re very lucky to have him.”
But why did you take so long Rod if you were so confident?
“We wanted to look at whole operation and see where we were going and see ways we could improve it. There are ways to improve, but changing the coach, in my mind, was not one of the ways to improve it He’s a good coach. He’s done a good job here. This past year we weren’t expected to do very well but we did better than many expected us to. Our young players got better. I believe we’re on the right road.”
But what about his contract status? Lame duck coaches usually don’t work out (Except for Doc Rivers):
“He’ll handle it as he handles most things: with equanimity and class. He’s concerned with how well he can coach the team and how well he can be doing that, and any of those ancillary things he doesn’t care about.”
Well thanks for clearing all that up Rod. I am going to go right out and say it, this sucks. I mean don’t get me wrong Lawrence Frank is somewhat a decent coach (he’d have to be to last over 5 years now), but I would just have loved to see someone new coaching this team…someone who can run a play and just doesn’t go ISO for Vince when the game is on the line. I understand that you can’t run plays every possession, but coming out of timeouts and during late game possessions, plays should be run and we never seem to run any.
It just seems to me that this decision was made by the owner because they didn’t want to spend money on two coaches (If they would have fired Frank, they would have had to pay his salary as well as the new coach’s salary). Even though Ratner claims otherwise, I don’t believe him. Especially because you have the President claiming he is unsure that Frank’s voice is being heard, you have your All-Star PG agreeing with him, but you still don’t fire him. It is all about the money folks…
Who knows. Maybe Lawrence Frank will coach his ass off next year. Maybe we get the #1 pick, make the playoffs, and everyone forgets about this whole offseason “situation.” I am going to say it one more time though, if Lawrence Frank gets fired midseason and we are stuck with an interim head coach (instead of being able to hire our own this offseason), I will be pissed.
Is Lawrence Frank Staying?
Apr 28, 2009 2009 Offseason, Coaching, Front Office, Lawrence Frank, Nets In The Media, Nets vs. Knicks, Rod Thorn
A quick sidenote. Looking up “Lawrence Frank Funny” on Google Image Search is probably the funniest thing ever. I mean just look at the results.
Anyway, a source familiar with the Nets told Knicksblog.com (There is a serious problem here. How come this source is going to a Knicks blog rather than going to a Nets blog – me. Pssst… e-mail sebastian.pruiti@netsarescorching.com if you feel like sending me some inside information) has said that the Nets are planning to stay with Frank for the start of the year:
A source familiar with the Nets has informed TKB that Lawrence Frank will remain as head coach of the team to start the 2009-10 season.
Upon hearing these rumors, Thorn came out with a statement:
“There nothing going on other than I’m just thinking it through, examining all aspects.”
Bruce Ratner also talked to reporters about the topic, saying that he would have no problem paying two salaries next year if the decision to fire Frank is made.
I was very confident yesterday that Frank would be fired, but now, I don’t really know. I will say this though, Frank comes back, gets fired mid-season and we are stuck with an interim head coach, I am going to be pissed mainly because if we fire Frank right now, we can have our pick of head coaches.
Nets Are Scorching Podcast – Episode 1
Apr 27, 2009 2009 Draft, 2009 Offseason, Front Office, Lawrence Frank, Podcast
Well, it’s here. The Podcast is complete and it is ready to go. In this episode I introduce myself, I explain the podcast, then I get to the meat and potatoes. I talk about the Lawrence Frank situation, get into the draft a little bit, and then I discuss the stadium situation. You can play it here, download it, or find it on iTunes. The Nets Are Scorching Podcast – It’s like a blog post, except with sound:
Where Should The Nets Play Their Home Games?
Apr 24, 2009 Brooklyn, Front Office, Izod Center, Opinion, Prudential Center
The Nets were supposed to move to Brooklyn after the 2004 season, however they have yet to break ground on an area. Nets’ front-office officials are confident that they will be playing in Brooklyn for the 2011-2012 season.
So why haven’t they broken ground yet? Brett Yormark said the Bruce Ratner-owned team is awaiting resolution of an eminent-domain lawsuit before breaking ground on the Barclays Center. This hasn’t shook Yormark’s confidence though:
“It will happen. We’ll be there for the ‘11-12 season. We’ve pre-sold 20 percent of our suites. We’ve got eight of our 14 founding partnerships already completely signed. Next week, we’ll announce our ninth.”
This is all well and good, but if this economy doesn’t get any better soon, building of the stadium will probably be delayed again. This post isn’t about the Brooklyn move though, it’s about where the Nets should be playing their home games while they are in New Jersey. The Prudential Center (The Rock) or the Izod Center?
All of this stuff has come to light recently due to comments made by Newark mayor Cory Booker where he said that the Medowlands and the Izod Center should be ruled out as a long-term home for the Nets. Mayor Booker is pushing for the Nets to play in Newark. Check out what he said to Gov. Corzine in a strongly worded letter:
“Should the Nets not build their project in Brooklyn, the Nets’ long-term home in New Jersey cannot be Izod. It must be Newark.”
Yesterday, eight Democratic lawmakers yesterday backed the idea of a “modernized Izod Center” in a letter to Gov. Jon Corzine. State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said if the National Basketball League team is unable to achieve a planned move to Brooklyn, it would be a “no-brainer” for the franchise to remain in the Meadowlands. He said the National Hockey League Devils’ status as chief tenant at the Prudential Center would lead the NBA to frown on a Nets shift to Newark.
So what do I think? I think the Nets should be playing their home games at the Prudential Center. Why? Well lets look at this from the Nets’ perspective, the Prudential Center would be fuller than the Izod Center, and that isn’t even considering the rise in attendance that you would get because you can…you know…get to the Prudential Center. A fuller arena leads to a better atmosphere at home and that in turn leads to a better homecourt advantage.
I know the NBA wouldn’t be happy seeing one of their teams playing in a 18,500 person arena, but lets be honest, the Nets aren’t drawing people anyway in their 20,049 person arena. Looking at the attendence numbers for this year the Nets were 25th in attendence averaging 15,147 fans a game (their biggest draw was their home game against the Lakers – 19,990 – the only game that would overflow the Prudential Center). Is this because they are losing? Nope, their 2002-2003 season (where they made the NBA finals) they averaged 15,184 fans.
So why don’t the fans go to the Izod center? I can tell you from personal experience that it is just too far away. It is about a hour and a half from my house (I live in central Jersey) and there is no public transportation to take you there. It is a poor location for a professional team stadium. Lets say you finally make it to the arena though…then you walk in. The facility is just as poor as the location is (In a 2005 poll, USA Today rated it the worst arena in the NBA). Maybe this is why the Nets can’t get any real big free agents…
Rod Thorn Season Wrap Up Interview & Roster Breakdown
Apr 23, 2009 2008-2009 Season Review, 2009 Offseason, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Front Office, Josh Boone, Nets In The Media, Rod Thorn, Videos, Vince Carter, Yi
So I got an interesting e-mail in my inbox last night, it was a couple links to a video interview and Rod Thorn’s breakdown of the roster. Here is the video, you can also find it on the Nets’ official website:
I know that it is a long one, but I urge you guys to watch the whole thing. It was interesting to hear Thorn discuss all these topics. The most interesting thing I picked up from this video was around the 7 minute mark. Here, Thorn was asked about the potential free agency pool, and while he can’t mention anyone by name (NBA rule) it seemed like Thorn went out of his way to call the pool “average”. Now this is true, there aren’t any big names coming out, but after hearing this video, I don’t expect to see anyone new joining the roster besides the rookies (A complete change from last year). This is a real smart move on Thorn’s part though, because the Nets are in a position where they want to save money (whether they admit it or not) and now Thorn is making an excuse not to spend this offseason (even though it is somewhat valid) that isn’t the money. That way Thorn doesn’t come off as cheap to the fans.
Now this isn’t all we got from Thorn. He also wen’t down the roster one-by-one and made a little statement about each one of them. You can find the whole thing here, but I am just going to post and comment on a few of these.
Rod Thorn On Vince:
“I think Vince had a tremendous year, both on the court and in the locker room. I think he was a very positive influence on our younger players with his support. And there are very few guys in this league who can average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, so you have to give him credit. I think he had a great year.”
Every statement that Rod Thorn has made about Vince as of late has been very lovey-dovey. It is starting to become obvious that VC will be a Net next year unless some team makes us an offer we can’t refuse on draft day.
Rod Thorn On CDR:
“Give Chris a lot of credit; he hardly played at all at the beginning of the year, but continued to work hard, got better and when his time came, he took advantage of it. he’s as confident as anybody on our team, he’s got deceiving size: he doesn’t look as big as he is. When he goes to the bucket, he’s got great finish on his drive game. An improving shooter, and I think he’s got a good future.”
High praise for CDR here. I like how Thorn talks about his height, what I read from this statement is that Thorn would like to see CDR get time at the 3 next year. If this is true you can see the Nets drafting a 4 this year. Sorry DeMar DeRozan fans (I am not one of these by the way).
Rod Thorn On Yi:
“Yi had his ups and downs early. Right before he got hurt, he was playing his best ball of the year. He can shoot the ball, he’s athletic and can run the court. He needs to work, needs to just play more, and add strength.”
Rod keeps this one short and sweet. Now I know he can’t just flat out say that he made a mistake with this trade, but you have to believe that is what he is thinking now-a-days.
Rod Thorn On Josh Boone:
“Josh was kind of up and down, had some real good moments, some not-so-good. Athletic, good hands, nice feel for the game, understands how to play. Needs to work on his shot obviously, his free throws and really get himself in top condition.”
This is the most negative Thorn was in these comments. Again maybe I am looking too much into it (or maybe I want it to happen so bad I am taking everything to mean it), but I think what Thorn says here is just screaming “Boone isn’t getting the job done and we need to draft a 4 this year!” But hey, maybe that is the conspiracy theorist in me.
Tags: 2008-2009 Season Review, 2009 Offseason, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Front Office, Josh Boone, NBA, Nets In The Media, NJ Nets, Rod Thorn, Videos, Vince Carter, Yi