Lawrence Frank Might Want to Think About Updating His Resume

by Marcel Mutoni

Lawrence Frank’s status as the longest-tenured coach in the East might soon change, to that of a guy looking for work. At least, that’s the impression his boss gave to the local media when asked about Frank’s job security.

Rod Thorn attempted to be diplomatic, but his poker face failed him when discussing Lawrence Frank’s future (or lack thereof) in New Jersey. From the Star-Ledger:

“I can’t guarantee anyone will be here,” Thorn said Tuesday, when asked about Lawrence Frank’s job security. “It’s true. At the end of the year, we’ll assess what’s happened. We’ll have a full assessment, just like we did last year. But I would have said the same thing last year: I can’t guarantee anything or anyone on any level — player, coach or president — will be here.”

Thorn was reminded that he wasn’t asked about a player or the team president, and that he was leaving a very strong inference that Frank — the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference — won’t be asked to return for the final year of his contract when the season ends in 15 days. He did not change his tone.

“All of us are part of what’s transpired this year, starting with myself, down through the players,” Thorn said. “As we do every year, when the season’s over, you look at the big picture, see where you could possibly make changes to get better, and you do what you have to do. There’s nothing to infer. We’re not finishing the way we’d like to finish. At the middle of the year, we were around .500, and since then we’ve struggled. We still have eight games, but we’re not finishing well. And this is what all organizations do, in virtually every area: Determine what went wrong, why it went wrong, how to get it better.”

With the Nets currenty 14 games below .500, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Couple that with the fact that the team can’t play defense to save its life – something Thorn is very keen on – and it becomes fairly obvious that change is needed in The Swamp.

Unfortunately for Lawrence Frank, that change likely includes him no longer being in the picture next season.