Detroit Pistons Fire Head Coach Lawrence Frank

Lawrence Frank is the latest coaching domino to fall today — the Detroit Pistons announced that Lil’ Frank will not return next season. This was expected, of course. Per the Detroit Free Press: “We thank Lawrence for his hard work and dedication, but we feel it is in the best interest of the franchise to make a change at this time,’ president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a released statement. ‘Decisions like this are never easy and we wish Lawrence well in the future.’ Frank concludes his Pistons career with a 54-94 record. The Pistons now will be looking for their eighth coach in 14 seasons. Frank, 42, was hired during the NBA lockout of 2011, after developing a solid reputation as head coach of the New Jersey Nets for six years run and one season as an assistant under Doc Rivers with the Boston Celtics. Frank’s first year showed promise when, after a 4-20 start to the lockout-shortened season, he navigated a 21-21 finish. But the Pistons lost their first eight games this season, and right when they appeared to be improving, they lost rookie center Andre Drummond for 22 games because of a back injury. The Pistons collapsed, going 1-13 in March. Many times, they weren’t even competitive. Frank missed six games during the month because his wife was ill on the East Coast.”