Details emerge on blowup between Jason Kidd, Lawrence Frank

Jason Kidd, Lawrence Frank
Jason Kidd, Lawrence Frank
Jason Kidd erupted at Lawrence Frank during a coach’s meeting, leading to their split. (AP)

Citing a team source, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports that Jason Kidd blew up at Lawrence Frank with a profanity-laced tirade that quieted Frank and eventually led to Kidd dismissing him from his bench entirely.

As Aldridge reports:

Kidd tried, gradually at first, to start putting his own imprint on the team. He would be, a member of the organization said last week, direct and honest with players in film sessions, going over things one-on-one with players — “that’s a bad shot, and here’s why. That’s losing basketball, and here’s why,” the source said. He tried to point out that he did know a couple of things about defense based on his career as a player (whether he specifically mentioned his four first-team all-NBA defensive team selections is unknown), and that he had ideas that were different from Frank’s.

But Frank “wouldn’t stop talking,” the second coaching source countered.

And several outlets have reported Frank was angered that Kidd chose assistant Joe Prunty instead of him to coach the team in his absence while Kidd served his DUI suspension at the start of the regular season.

The denouement came in the now well-reported blowup Kidd had with Frank, where Kidd, according to a source, told Frank: “Sit the (bleep) down! I’m the coach of this (13-letter word) team! When you’re on the bench, don’t (bleeping) move!”

Frank did as he was told. Other coaches playing the Nets thought he was ill, he was so quiet during recent games.

In the few days since he left, Kidd has tinkered with the Nets’ pick-and-roll defense, trying desperately to find coverages that will aid Brooklyn’s horrible defense against the 3-pointer. The Nets are the NBA’s worst team at guarding 3-pointers, allowing opponents to shoot 41 percent from there.

Aldridge delves further into detail about the current Nets issues, and how they go beyond injuries: “Lopez didn’t hide behind the injuries, saying the chemistry the team has should compensate for lost players — and this season is even more bizarre than the one where the Nets went 12-70 early in his career.”

Read More: NBA.com — Why is the East so bad now? Ten factors stand out the most