 Frank in 2012 asDetroit Pistons head coach | |
| Los Angeles Clippers | |
|---|---|
| Position | President of basketball operations |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1970-08-23)August 23, 1970 (age 54) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Teaneck (Teaneck, New Jersey) |
| College | Indiana |
| Coaching career | 1992–2016 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1992–1994 | Marquette (assistant) |
| 1994–1997 | Tennessee (assistant) |
| 1997–2000 | Vancouver Grizzlies (assistant) |
| 2000–2004 | New Jersey Nets (assistant) |
| 2004–2009 | New Jersey Nets |
| 2010–2011 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 2011–2013 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2013 | Brooklyn Nets (assistant) |
| 2014–2016 | Los Angeles Clippers (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| As executive: | |
Lawrence Adam Frank (born August 23, 1970)[1][2] is an Americanbasketball coach and executive who serves as president of basketball operations for theLos Angeles Clippers of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). Frank formerly served as head coach of theDetroit Pistons and theNew Jersey Nets, he has also been an assistant coach for theBoston Celtics and the Nets.
Frank was honored with the 2020NBA Executive of the Year Award after acquiring bothPaul George andKawhi Leonard during the 2019 offseason.
Frank was born inNew York City, and grew up inTeaneck, New Jersey. He graduated fromTeaneck High School in 1988 but never made the school's basketball team.[3] He attendedCamp Greylock for Boys, a sports camp in theBerkshires. Frank, who is Jewish, played for aJewish Community Center team and was also a player-coach for aCatholic Youth Organization team.[4]
He earned his B.S. in education fromIndiana University in 1992, where he spent four seasons as a manager for theHoosier basketball team coached byBob Knight. During his time at Indiana the Hoosiers won theBig Ten Conference championship twice, once in the 1988–89 season and again in the 1990–91 season. His senior year, during the 1991–92 season, Indiana reached the1992 NCAA Final Four but fell toDuke in a foul-plagued game inMinneapolis.
Frank has frequently cited Knight as a role model and mentor.[5] Asked what he learned most of Knight, he said, "It's more of what he stood for. If you work hard and are trustworthy it will carry you a long way. Master your subject matter, have confidence, be reliable and sincere. He is a great mentor and teacher to have at age 18. With him you started at the bottom and were given nothing. Everything you got, you earned—sweat equity."[5]
Frank served as an assistant coach at theUniversity of Tennessee for three seasons under Head coachKevin O'Neill. Frank first worked with O'Neill as a staff assistant atMarquette University in 1992 and during his tenure, helped lead the Marquette Warriors to twoNCAA tournament berths and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1994.[6]
Frank then spent three seasons as an assistant coach for theVancouver Grizzlies underBrian Hill. Hill would later serve as Frank's assistant with the New Jersey Nets.[6] His responsibilities with the Grizzlies included scouting upcoming opponents as well as practice and bench coaching duties.
Frank became the interim head coach of the New Jersey Nets on January 26, 2004, succeedingByron Scott, after serving as an assistant coach with the team since the2000–01 season. He officially became the head coach of the Nets on June 21, 2004.
Frank began his NBA head coaching career by achieving a 13–0 record from January 27 to February 24, 2004, setting a new NBA record for the most consecutive wins by a rookie NBA head coach. The 13-game winning streak was also the longest winning streak of a rookie head coach in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues. During this streak, the Nets won six consecutive games on the road, giving Frank the mark for the most consecutive road-game wins by a rookie head coach.
The Nets picked up the extension option in Frank’s contract on June 6, 2006, and added a two-year extension on July 23, 2007. However, Frank's tenure as Nets head coach ended on November 29, 2009, after the Nets began the season with an 0–16 record.[7][8] This streak was ongoing at the time of his dismissal and continued afterwards. Frank was the only coach ever in the NBA to start and end his tenure with a team with a double-digit winning streak and losing streak.[citation needed] Following his firing, Frank worked as an analyst for NBATV. On July 15, 2010, Frank was hired by theBoston Celtics, replacingTom Thibodeau as the lead assistant coach onDoc Rivers' coaching staff.
On August 3, 2011, Frank was introduced as the head coach of theDetroit Pistons.[9]
After a loss toOklahoma City Thunder on November 12, 2012, the Pistons fell to 0–8. This made Frank the third coach in the history of the NBA to start at least 0–8 with two separate franchises.
On April 18, 2013, Frank was fired by the Pistons after going 54–94 in two seasons.[10]
On June 28, 2013, he gave in to rookie coachJason Kidd's rather public recruiting efforts to make Frank (who had coached Kidd when he played for the Nets) his lead assistant coach on the now-Brooklyn Nets. Frank's contract made him the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA at the time (approximately $6 million over 6 years). Preferring to delegate his authority, Kidd stated that Frank's role would be to run the team's defense, while being Kidd's head-coaching mentor. Kidd placed another assistant coach,John Welch, in charge of the team's offense.[11][12]
On December 3, 2013, Frank was demoted—relegated by Nets head coachJason Kidd to merely filing team evaluation reports. This so-called "re-assignment" meant that Frank would be banned from being on the bench during games and from even attending team practices. This resulted from escalating tensions and squabbling between the two over the 'right' coaching philosophies, strategies, and tactics for the team.[13]
On September 25, 2014, Frank joined theLos Angeles Clippers staff after reaching a buyout agreement with the Nets.[14]
On June 30, 2016, the Clippers promoted Frank to Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.[15]
On August 4, 2017, Frank was promoted to President for Basketball Operations, replacingDoc Rivers. Clippers chairmanSteve Ballmer removed Rivers from his position as team president to focus on his role as head coach.
Frank has a wife and two daughters and lives in New Jersey during the offseason.[16]
In addition to his degree fromIndiana University Bloomington, Frank also holds an M.S. in education administration fromMarquette University.
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 2003–04 | 40 | 25 | 15 | .625 | 1st inAtlantic | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| New Jersey | 2004–05 | 82 | 42 | 40 | .512 | 3rd in Atlantic | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | Lost inFirst round |
| New Jersey | 2005–06 | 82 | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1st in Atlantic | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| New Jersey | 2006–07 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 2nd in Atlantic | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | Lost inConference semifinals |
| New Jersey | 2007–08 | 82 | 34 | 48 | .415 | 4th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| New Jersey | 2008–09 | 82 | 34 | 48 | .415 | 4th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| New Jersey | 2009–10 | 16 | 0 | 16 | .000 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Detroit | 2011–12 | 66 | 25 | 41 | .379 | 4th inCentral | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Detroit | 2012–13 | 82 | 29 | 53 | .354 | 4th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 614 | 279 | 335 | .454 | 38 | 18 | 20 | .474 | |||
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