National Basketball Association

New Jersey fires head coach after 0-16 start

Published Nov. 30, 2009 2:31 a.m. ET

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The New Jersey Nets fired coach Lawrence Frank on Sunday after losing their first 16 games during one of the worst starts in NBA history.

Assistant Tom Barrise will coach the team Sunday night in Los Angeles against the Lakers, when the Nets could tie the record for the worst start if they lose.

The Nets said a permanent replacement for Frank has not been determined.

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Frank was in his sixth full season, the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference and the winningest coach in the Nets' NBA history. But none of those victories came this season, and the team dismissed him with a 225-241 record.

"Lawrence always approached every day with a passion for his craft that was infectious, and his dedication to the game as well as his work ethic are to be both admired and appreciated," Nets president Rod Thorn said in a statement. "I wish he and his family only the best of good fortune in the future."

Frank, a product of nearby Teaneck, N.J., began his career with a 13-game winning streak, the best coaching start in league history. But he couldn't overcome a losing streak that was even longer, just a game shy of the 17-game skids set by the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers.

Plagued by injuries this season, the Nets faced some games where they were missing four starters and suited up the minimum eight players. Still, they played hard and stayed close for most of those games, figuring the wins would come when they started getting some bodies back.

"He wasn't dealt a royal flush," said Rafer Alston, who joined New Jersey in the June trade sending star scorer Vince Carter to Orlando and gutting the Nets' payroll. "It's almost like he had a pair of 2's, and he tried to fight."

Though Frank's departure had been widely rumored, Frank's players claimed they were shocked when their energetic coach showed up at their morning team meeting in Los Angeles not wearing his Nets gear.

"It's tough, because he was the hardest worker on the team," center Brook Lopez said. "He's so passionate about what he does. It was a rough situation, and he did a great job of not using our injuries as an excuse. He came in every night and had us prepared."

After 3 1/2 seasons as a Nets assistant, Frank replaced the fired Byron Scott on Jan. 26, 2004.

He quickly turned around a struggling team with his record-setting start, winning Eastern Conference coach of the month honors in February after leading the Nets to an 11-2 record, a franchise-record .846 winning percentage.

The Nets made the playoffs in each of Frank's first four seasons, advancing to the second round in three of them, before returning to their longtime losing ways while slashing payroll in recent years.

Jason Kidd was traded in February 2008, fellow veterans Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter were gone by last summer's draft, and only the Kidd deal that landed All-Star point guard Devin Harris brought back much in return.

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So after losing in the East semifinals in 2006 and '07, the Nets stumbled to 34-48 finishes the last two seasons.

Plagued by poor attendance and heavy financial losses while playing at the Meadowlands, the Nets have been looking ahead to a move to Brooklyn. While management could make decisions with that in mind, Frank ultimately paid the price for what was happening in the present.

The deals helped the Nets' financial future, leaving them with the most salary cap space available for the stellar free agent class expected next summer. But it left the team devoid of talented depth when New Jersey was plagued by injuries early this season.

Even if the Nets played well, Frank might not have made it past this season.

Owners will vote by the end of next month whether to approve the sale of the team to Russian Mikhail Prokhorov. If the sale goes through, as expected, Prokhorov could decide to bring in his own coaching staff.