Detroit Pistons Coach Might Keep Job Despite Awful Season

Lawrence Frank might be looking for a job when the season ends for his Detroit Pistons, who have the fourth worst record in the NBA.

No one knows for sure yet and the failure of the Pistons is obviously more of a players’ issue.

The Pistons could have a drastic new look with several players eligible for free agency and others that can be bought out. General manager Joe Dumars has been trying to free up as much salary cap space as possible. But no major name player who can make a difference is likely to come to a franchise that’s on a four-year youth movement kick that hasn’t yielded many positive results so far.

Any coach the Pistons get isn’t likely to be any better than Frank, who is in a long line of coaches who realize there’s no job security in Detroit.

Of the last eight Pistons coaches, only one has lasted more than two NBA seasons, and that exception was for three seasons. Regardless of records, Dumars has usually liked making a change after two years. With new team ownership and restless fans who blame Dumars for the team’s failures as much as anyone else, the Pistons GM might want to focus on new personnel and let Frank give it one more year. Unlike his predecessor, John Kuester, Frank seems to have the respect of his players and an amiable relationship.

But this was a team that was supposed to challenge for the playoffs.  After his team lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesdays night, Frank echoed his latest lament.

“I just thought offensively, we didn’t put a whole lot into the game offensively, in terms of we didn’t do a lot to help each other,” he said. “We missed some shots, but we were walking into actions, not sprinting into screens, not holding screens, not rolling hard to the basket. We got frustrated that we didn’t make shots.”