Welp, that was quick huh? Well, according to a number of sources, Lawrence Frank is done and Assistant coach Tom Barrise will coach the team in L.A. on Sunday. Adrian Wojnarowski has the report:
Frank will not coach against the Lakers on Sunday night, when the Nets will have a chance to tie an NBA record with a 17th straight loss to start the season. New Jersey assistant Tom Barrise will coach Sunday instead.
Yahoo! Sports first reported early Sunday that Nets president Rod Thorn had made the decision to fire Frank. Thorn was expected to meet with owner Bruce Ratner on Sunday to inform him that he would replace Frank on Monday, but sped up the process after news of Frank’s imminent dismissal became public.
To be honest, I am a little surprised about the timing, I thought it would not only be after tonight’s game, but after Tuesday’s game against the Mavs as to give coach Frank one final game at home. Here is Wojnarowski one more time:
“Rod didn’t want Lawrence to have that record attached to his name,” one source close to situation said.
Nets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe has been on the team’s Western trip, studying the team’s personnel. Vandeweghe has wanted to dismiss Frank as far back as last season, sources say, but team president Rod Thorn has resisted until now.
As I have already made clear, firing Lawrence Frank right now doesn’t make any sense, but it was going to happen, especially since the effort (something that has been there for the first 12 or so games) was starting to fade. No word on who will replace Frank full time, Tom Barrise has officially been named as his replacement just for tonight’s game.
