Nets Keep Lawrence Frank

In an announcement overshadowed by the playoffs on Wednesday, Nets boss Rod Thorn confirmed that coach Lawrence Frank will return for the 2009-10 season. Frank was under contract already, but Thorn had been publicly hedging on whether he'd return.

Never mind the lame duck status -- Thorn rightfully dismisses that potential issue, which always hovers in the NBA but rarely bites. (Coaches get canned in the middle of a contract just as frequently as in the final year of the contract.) But there is a problem here: Thorn's declarations last week that the players might have tuned out Frank. Admission is the first step to acceptance. Does this mean the Nets accept that Frank's voice isn't getting through to everyone?

Frank has (seemingly) perfect communication with Devin Harris, at least as the player tells it. But Harris is one player. What about the other backcourt star, Vince Carter? Vince had a great season (for the most part), and there has never really been publicized drama between Carter and Frank. (And trust me, the media covering the Nets knows how to root out drama.) If Harris and Carter respect and listen to Frank, who else that matters could be tuning him out?

Brook Lopez? It seems unlikely: Lopez had a fantastic season, and Frank hasn't complained aloud about his defense (better off-the-ball than on the pick-and-roll, that's for sure) or work ethic. Yi Jianlian? I hardly think Yi is in a place to dictate coaching decisions. Really ... who isn't listening to Frank?

That makes the whole thing even more unfortunate. The business folks got into Thorn's ear about replacing a good, good coach ... for whatever reason. Did they want a D'Antoni-style entertaining team? Do they think hiring a popular player's coach like Eddie Jordan would reverse the jinx of Atlantic Yards and pull a major 2010 free agent? Do they just resent Frank's personal style? There doesn't seem to be a valid basketball reason to have let Frank go. Thank goodness Thorn figured that out. If only he could have done so, like, two weeks ago.

There is still only one coaching job open in the NBA. The only other jobs which could conceivably open up at this point would be Minnesota (which seems like more of a lock every day), Atlanta (if Miami comes back) or New Orleans (if George Shinn's disappointment overrides his thrift).