Lawrence Frank may be the new head coach of the Pistons

by | Jul 21, 2011 | 55 comments

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Lawrence Frank will receive a formal offer to become the Detroit Pistons next Head Coach within the next 24-36 hours.

Go look at the tweet here

Better yet, just stay here and do reading at the tweet:

No Laimbeer, No 2004 LB connection in Mike Woodson, No 1st year coach, and more interestingly No Joe Dumars companion. Frank is from outside of the organization, and will likely fill his coaching staff with others who are from outside of the organization and who have had little to no affiliation with the Pistons and/or Joe Dumars.

Interesting. I’ve been on Team Frank all along so…. I’ll take it.

Your thoughts? as always, more on this as it develops.

MORE (5:25pm) : Ok so here’s a link to Wojnarowski’s article.

Here’s an excerpt:

Frank, an assistant with the Boston Celtics, separated his candidacy in his first meetings with management and ownership, distancing himself from contenders Mike Woodson and Kelvin Sampson, sources said.

The Pistons organization has been deliberate in the process, talking to several candidates. But barring unforeseen snags in contract talks, Frank figures to replace John Kuester, who was fired as coach on June 5.

MORE thoughts on this (6:00pm):
Terry Foster from 97.1 “The Ticket” claims to have spoken to a player who has said he’s “not impressed by Lawrence Frank” and that he’ll “have to win them over”. Go read it for yourself here at his Twitter

N4S favorite Matt Dery, who is also from 97.1 “The Ticket” and is the host of the Pistons Postgame show says “I was a Sampson fan from the start of the #Pistons search, but I like L Frank he’s a dynamic guy and fun to talk to” – go read this tweet here

I hope Gores finds out which Piston player said he’s not impressed by Frank and makes an example out of him. Frank doesn’t have to “win” any of the players over, in fact, it should be the players who have to win Frank and Gores over with their play otherwise they’re done in the Pistons red blue and white.

55 Comments

  1. z

    Well if you’re sick of the same ole ʇıɥs then he’s the coach.( unless someone better was avail.) Me I think we need change and holding on to the past was well……. getting old. We’ve been riding that 2004 championship for too long.. Players insert names here____ thinking they know it all because of it. I think with some new blood and new direction may just be what the new breed pistons need..

    Reply
  2. daddy

    Ill give him a shot but I wanted adelman. I would rather have him than woodson so i guess the glass is half full. Lets see what he can do hopefully he can manage the players. his system is usually orientated towads guards and we got plenty of those.

    Reply
    • Drew

      +1

      Reply
  3. Drew

    Can I write the f word on here? Anyway, can you, Boney, voice your reasons why you like Frank (other than the small paragraph above)?

    Reply
    • BadBoy

      +1

      imo Frank is a 2nd tier coach, if that.

      Reply
    • Danny Bohnlein

      I’m queuing up a love letter for Frank, and should have it up shortly… don’t you go worrying your little head Drew!

      Reply
  4. Altan

    lmao sharif… 😛
    but i know im gettin hate here so ill bear with it…but i like Frank and I think hes going to be good for us…I never said this about Curry or Kuester but i think this is a good move for the pistons, lets see how it works out

    Reply
  5. Jodi Jezz

    Uhmm, Frank is a defensive minded coach, so it might be a good idea… We just need to make a trade for a legit center before the season starts and we should be ok!

    Reply
  6. Lawrence

    Maybe if he goes by Larry and wears little round glasses, he will get the players to listen to him

    Reply
  7. Brian

    Yeah who ever said that on the Pistons needs to go. This is why we are known as a bad team. You can’t put down a coach that hasn’t even showed what he has. I think Frank will be a good choice and these players could learn alot from him hes been in the league for a long time give the man a chance, hes no Curry for sure not even close or Q.

    Reply
  8. daddy

    hate to say it but i think stucks going to leave the D. he never really had a chance to get into a groove with all the coaching changes and player drama. We got knight, moose, and the sweede to build around. Time to sign and trade tay and try and get rid of rip and cv. Hopefully this lockout will be over with soon so we can make some moves son.

    Reply
  9. the outside guy

    Disregarding the fact that Kuester is a mediocre coach the Pistons have sucked lately because of their roster – not because of their coach. There are a bunch of players on your team that don’t seem to give a crap (anymore).

    That being said, hiring Frank is a good move by the Pistons. He is defensive minded and defense is what won you guys three championships in the past. He will make your players work their butts off on the defensive end. And it’s up to Joe Dumars to get rid of everybody that doesn’t buy into that.

    Reply
  10. thewordkeeper

    I supported Laimbeer as the next Pistons head coach but it was not to be. I am still hoping beyond hope that he gets an assistant gig. Now that Franks is the new coach, he deserves a chance to turn this team around. He has my support, to a degree that is. I lost my enthusiasm the last 3 years watching these guys. Living in another state i rely on NBA League Pass to watch the games. Not this season however. What i saw on the hardwood was an atrocity.

    I refuse to let my emotions run wild supporting a team where some of the players had no respect for the coach, and a coach who couldn’t handle his players and a GM, who i widely respect, stayed almost completely neutral during the season long dissension. A couple of years ago i got league pass and being on a fixed income i almost ended up in the poor house and homeless at the same time watching completely uninspired and lackluster play. I lived in Missourri for a number of years some time ago so this season they are going to have to “Show Me” before i spend that kind of dough again.

    Now having said that I am amazed at how some people are trying to spin Franks previous coaching record into something that it was not. Now if people want to say that they want Franks because he’s a young coach and the team is getting younger each year, then yes i can get with that. If they want to say the Netf were always injured and he just couldn’t get it going because of it, i see that. If they say they want him because he’s a new voice; someone totally outside and unaffiliated with the Pistons whatsoever, i can understand that too. I even understand it if this is a Gores hire, and all indications shows that it is, that it is his team and he can hire whomever he wants no regardless of what anyone thinks. But down playing the negative side of Franks record the last 3 years is going a bit too far.

    Someone wrote “He “hasn’t showed what he has.” 3 losing seasons in New Jersey with the last one being 0-16 start and he’s hasn’t shown what he can do? Yeah i know this is a new team and again his team was injured a lot, but some of the same problems that occured with the Pistons happened with the Nets; players no longer listening and defense gone on a permanent vacation. If the injuries were such a big factor of Franks not succeeding and being retained in Jersey then why didn’t the brass say “hey, we were injured the last two seasons let’s keep our coach, It’s not his fault.”

    Speaking of defense some alluded to the defensive mind of Franks. Well not so much according to Nets GM Rod Thorn who said:

    “We have been a bad defensive team all year,” said Thorn, whose team is ranked 19th in scoring defense and 19th in field-goal defense. “Normally a team gets better over the course of time, but we have never been a good defensive team. Whether we don’t have the personnel to do it, or we don’t concentrate enough, or need more seasoning — I’m not sure. But we’ve never become a good defensive team.”

    While Frank has succeeded masterfully in developing young players such as Devin Harris and Brook Lopez — which was the organization’s mission statement in October — the team hasn’t grown up fast enough to satisfy management’s timetable, judging by its 30-44 record.

    But if there is anything that sinks Frank after 5 1/2 seasons on the job, it would be his inability to turn Thorn’s personnel into a cohesive defensive unit this season.

    Consider that over the last five games, the Nets’ starting forward tandem has been outscored 193-41, and outrebounded 85-38.

    “…his inability to turn Thorn’s personnel into a cohesive defensive unit this season.” Yeah if they had hired laimbeer i could see him not having the ability to turn the Pistons into a “cohesive defensive unit.”

    http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2009/03/new_jersey_nets_president_rod_5.html

    And as far players listening to Franks ala Kuester and the Pistons?:
    “Most of the guys have tuned him out,” one source with direct knowledge of the locker room environment said. “This isn’t all Lawrence’s fault, but everyone knows that this can’t go on anymore.”

    Now didn’t the Pistons have that same problem last season?

    http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-frankfiring112909

    But Laimbeer didn’t get hired, Franks did. And the sooner i accept it the sooner i will be able to get over it already right? Sheesh!

    Now admittedly on my part since Laimbeer wasn’t hired and Franks was the above quotes are really neither here nor there and quite meaningless. Gores and those who wanted Franks got their man. However let’s be realistic when looking at the problems Franks and the Nets had alongside with what went down with the Pistons last year.

    Maybe this is a new chapter in Piston basketball. As i said earlier he deserves a chance to do what many said he can’t do. He has another opportunity to succeed.

    Mr Franks the basketball is in your court. We await Gores’, Joe D’s and your manning and righting a rudderless ship floundering on a sea of instability and dysfunction..

    Pistons all the way in 2012!!!

    Reply
  11. Jaime

    I think durriing the lock out coaches should have more authority over thier players, I grew up watching profesionals . now its its like drama queens every where. the league reminds of a famous quote from Woody Harelson in the film White men cant jump he goes to tell wesley snipes.” YOU WOULD RATHER LOOK GOOD FIRST WIN SECOND”

    Reply
  12. Amer-ican Prince

    2 guys from the business world and some guy who used to work with the dreadful new york knicks picked frank. i think this is just one of those he impressed face to face but if you see it from a outside perspective you can see the flaws with this

    Reply
  13. Drew

    Word is that if we really go through with hiring Frank, then Larry Brown might join the Celtics as an assistant coach. If LB is really interested in coaching again, why didn’t we at least give him an interview, especially since we’re still so enamored with his proteges from the championship years? I’m about at the end of my rope with this team.

    Reply
    • Chad

      You have to remember, it’s Joe Dumars.

      I’m done. Can’t handle it any more.

      Reply
      • junior

        Cya quitter. Dont wanna c ya back when we start winning either. Bye.

        Reply
        • Chad

          You don’t have to worry about that until 2-3 years after Joe is fired, even then, there are better things to do with our time.

          Reply
  14. edt

    not enthused about frank but it doesnt matter next year’s team will make the playoffs, we got jerebko coming back finally, and of course the moose, stuckey shouldnt be too expensive, brandon knight, we are one player away from having a real contender

    Reply
    • Drew

      But everybody appears to want to get rid of Stuckey for this unproven 19-year-old who wasn’t even drafted for a position we need…

      Reply
      • edt

        too bad fans, stuckey is good, we’re gonna play him. I like stuckey, he’s a really good player, and detroit can sign him for a decent price thanks to our awful team. This is not gonna be like rip, prince, and ben gordon, we’re getting a good strong young player resigning for a decent price. Unless joe dumars loses it and locks us into another bad contract.

        of course if someone offers stuckey a mountain of cash we have to let him go. Our team has been strung up by financial problems for too long to let it happen again.

        Reply
  15. daddy

    Stuck is an great player he can take it to the bucket hard. If he was on a good team and got the calls he deserves his shooting percentage would go up as well. If we got rid of rip just slide him over to the 2 and have bg come off the bench. Yeah he gets paid a grip for not playing d but atleast we have a scorer off the bench.

    Reply
    • Drew

      If he leaves, I hope he goes to a team like Miami or LA Lakers, either of which would flourish with him at the PG. Then he’ll finally get the wins and recognition he deserves.

      Reply
      • daddy

        no miami and la want spot up three point shooters off their players that dominate the ball. i think he would be great in utah though.

        Reply
        • Drew

          Perhaps, but both teams just need talent at that position, regardless of the skill set. Utah already has Devin Harris; they could use a SG like Rip still.

          Reply
  16. dd3

    Options at Coach
    Adleman (too oldschool & set in his ways to win with a young team like ours)

    Woodson (Couldn’t get it done with a far more talented Hawks team, not sure he would have done much with our crappy roster)

    Frank (With a team featuring an aging Kidd & a past his prime Vince, he still had them compete. It wasn’t until his team was traded away for a pot pie that he started to lose. The guy had the best start as a rookie coach)

    Sampson (banned from College hoops for good reason)

    Laimbeer (great coach in the WNBA not so sure what he can do with a group of guys tho. He needs a few more years as an assistant)

    Terry Porter was available (not sure why he still gets consideration considering he’s never won anything)

    I was against the Frank hire for the most part & I am still not 100% sold. But with our team still a few years form contending, I say why the hell not. Frank is young & has won on a high level. Lets see how it works out

    Reply
  17. Detroit89

    Frank was the best choice out there, there is a reason why laimbeer is not even an option looked at for head coach position in Minn? Does anyone else realize that he is not being interviewed or looked at for any other coaching job besides the pistons, and it is just because fans would admire him here for being a former bad boy. But when it comes to winning, Frank is better. It was a good choice.

    Now, we need to hope and wait that the lockout will ever end.

    Reply
  18. Detroit89

    besides that laimbeer might be a assistant coach perhaps. Either way, I am hoping for a lottery pick for Detroit 2012-13

    Reply
  19. daddy

    No one gave Gentry and try or even interviewed him and he did wonders for the suns his first season. Look at Tib and what he did for chi town. Vince was in his prime when he was with the nets and with kid spoon feeding players it made them really good. I dont care that frank had the best start he had a damn good team and an pretty easy schedule. Dont get me wrong its an amazing feet but doesnt mean hes a amazing coach.

    Reply
    • dd3

      None of the coaches left are amazing. Adelman has never won. He’s a veteran coach who hasn’t won a championship…has he even been to the finals? Larry Brown has always taken his teams far. Been to the finals a few times before finally winning his 1 & only ring with the Pistons. Woodson had a talented Hawks team & took them as far as they could go. Frank took a mediocre Nets team to the Eastern Finals but lost to better teams. The rest of the available coaches haven’t done what any of those 4 had done. Now Adelman, needs a team ready to compete now. We are not that team. Larry Brown screwed any chance of ever coming back to Detroit when he bolted for greener pastures in NY. Woodson, a Brown cast off, May be better suited for a team like Min that has winning athletic players & lastly Frank. The 1 guy left who may actually be the voice Det needs. He was able to get Vince & Kidd to respect him as a coach. Something Keuster couldn’t do with Rip & Tay & the others. Maybe Franks style will suit our Vets. We are a long way away from competing. No need hiring an expensive coach now when we know we arent gonna win anything anytime soon

      Reply
      • daddy

        A mediocore nets team with Kidd VC Kerry Kettles K Mart and Mutombo. Thats a pretty good team if you ask me. Not paying big money for a coach because we are not going to win it is the worst thing ive heard. Pay a coach, get a system, and get players to respect the system and develope. Why bother switching coaches when the team “gets good enough”. Then players will have to adapt and players dont always if into certain systems .Adelman has done the exact same thing Frank has done. He went to the finals and got stopped by mmm JORDON. Oh yeah and got robbed by LA with all the bs calls. Id rather have frank than woodson but rather have adleman over anyone. SO before mouthing off know your facts. Frank was handed the team that got him to the finals and Byron developed it so enough said.

        Reply
        • dd3

          lol Mouthing off? WTH! I gave an opinion & before YOU mouth off learn to spell JORDAN! Kerry Kittles & Mutombo were done by the time Frank coached them. VC plays with NO HEART OR PASSION! They were a Vet team, lead by a semi disgruntled Jason Kidd & still managed to compete under rank. K Mart was hurt most of the time Vince was there & didn’t get back to relevance until he left for Denver. But it is what it is. Our team is NOT going to be any good any time soon. We have no tradeable assets, no superstar to attract players & no money for free agency. It’s being a realistic fan. Frank is NOT a great coach. Adleman is a very good coach who never got it done (See Jerry Sloan). He’s also older & wants a ring now. A 4 year deal on a team with no real chance of reaching the ring, would do nothing for him. Also there is a reason no one is interviewing him. His name hasn’t even come up in vacancies in Detroit, Minnesota, Indiana or Toronto. So KNOW your facts before you start discussing things YOU no nothing about.

          Reply
      • edt

        the single best reason to pay more for a good coach is that he doesn’t cost you for the salary cap. That said, for a while there we were playing russian roulette with coaches, like him or not, we have to give franks a chance. This team is going to the playoffs. It will be sweet when all the bandwagoners climb back on in march.

        Reply
        • daddy

          i think we will make the playoffs as well. Im really getting tired of these big losing streaks. I think adleman wouldnt be too expensive its not like he is looking for a phil jackson type contract. i think we choose the best coach out of the running. In my opinion we could of got better but we could of also go a lot worse. That being said lets make some trades and get things going. Of course after the lockout.

          Reply
        • Drew

          Edt calling playoffs? I’d like that. I’m more worried if there’s going to be a season at all, so March could be null and void.

          Reply
          • edt

            stuckey is one year older and should show slight improvement, greg is one year older and will show incredible improvement, he has incredible basketball iq and learns so quickly, jerebko will be back and help our defense where we need it most, daye will be slightly better, ben gordon can not possibly be worse, so you are looking at a relatively young team where you will have a lot of improvement, of course we make the playoffs, and I think we should make a decent run once we get there.

            I think we are on schedule as a young team to start making a push into the post-season. We have our young players from the draft. I do not expect to return to the draft again for at least another five years.

            Our bad contracts are slowly getting ripe, one less year of Ben Gordon, one less year of Rip Hamilton, Charlie V has played for value on his contract, he’s worked out ok.

            I think this team is ready for the next level. I think you know I wasn’t optimistic about the pistons last year. Thought they stunk. This year is gonna be different. I haven’t felt this way about the team in years.

            Be nice to the band-wagoners when they climb back aboard.

            Reply
  20. Amer-ican Prince

    i saw ESPN first take yesterday and now im kind of glad they picked him. david aldridge was talking about how joe dumars was going to go for woodson cause of the detroit connection and honestly i think its good ownership overruled joe on this one. i think joe dumars needs to be challanged and needs to look to the future more then the past. so i think frank is gonna have some problems here i do think its the right choice in the long term. with the owners showing they are willing to challange joe d out of complaceny.

    PISTONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

    Reply
    • Drew

      If there is a long term. I’m starting to warm up to Frank after hearing some of the positives, or at least I’m just becoming complacent with this hiring.

      Reply
      • Amer-ican Prince

        well the way i see it. no coach is going to lead this group to a championship. As long as he stands up like a man and doesnt throw up his arms a lot and look like someone just took his favorite toy as if he was 2 i think he will be alright. He could be like the rick carlisie to larry brown like back in the day. an ok coach who is a stepping stone to where we go from here

        Reply
  21. blamu2

    Adrian Wojnarowski couldn’t possibly have a more polish name

    Reply
  22. junior

    frank is our new coach! just got hired today around 3:45pm on friday. am i the first to read this? danny? nat? edt?

    Reply
  23. junior

    damn, boney wheres the write up u promised? hurry man im fiending for something

    Reply
    • BadBoy

      +1 – been 10 days since the promise

      Reply
  24. daddy

    4 years mmm atleast its a not a new coach year after year

    Reply
    • Chad

      That just means those extra 2 years will count against our salary cap – erm, 1 year, since the 4th is a team option.

      Reply
      • Danny Bohnlein

        Coach salaries do not count against the salary cap.

        Reply
  25. Jon L.

    This is a smart move by the Pistons and he Frank will help develop some of the younger players.

    Reply
  26. Tate

    any word on which player was talking shit about Frank? Im just curious because I think I can guess who it was.. Just want to see if I was right

    Reply
    • Minibeast

      whos ur guess

      Reply
  27. Minibeast

    dude update the site

    Reply
    • detroitKG

      Go to Detroit Bad Boys they actually keep up with everything even in the off season… At least more than need4sheed these days…

      Reply
      • Minibeast

        Kool ill make the switch

        Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Reaction: Lawrence Frank’s hiring shows that Tom Gores will challenge Joe Dumars « PistonPowered - [...] Danny Bohnlein, Need4Sheed: No Laimbeer, No 2004 LB connection in Mike Woodson, No 1st year coach, and more interestingly…
  2. Reaction: Lawrence Frank’s hiring shows that Tom Gores will challenge Joe Dumars | NBA News Report - [...] Danny Bohnlein, Need4Sheed: No Laimbeer, No 2004 LB connection in Mike Woodson, No 1st year coach, and more interestingly…

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