Deposed coach Frank says Nets deserve better than 0-17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- On the day after his dismissal from the 0-17 Nets, Lawrence Frank said he punched in "home" on his car's GPS system. It directed him to the team offices.

"I'm in the office right now," Frank said on a conference call on Monday. "I really don't know where to go."

But Frank, on his first day in more than a decade as a former employee of the Nets, knows one thing -- that the team he's leaving deserves better than the NBA's record for futility to start a season.

"I'm being very sincere, in that I feel bad for these guys," Frank added. "If they didn't deserve it, I'd say it -- I have nothing to gain by it. But this group deserves it. Guys will get back in rhythm and conditioning. And brighter days are obviously ahead."

Frank, 39, was relieved of his duties by Nets president Rod Thorn on Sunday after failing to get a win in 16 straight games. New Jersey, coached by assistant/interim coach Tom Barrise, tied the record for worst start of the season, at 0-17, with a lifeless, 106-87 loss to the Lakers on Sunday night.

Frank said his goodbyes to the team for the last time and missed the game while flying cross-country. He was left with the surreal feeling of not having game tape to peruse on Monday.

"I think it's always hard to have unfinished business," Frank added. "You feel like you let people down, especially with the way my situation ended.

"I have a great deal of respect for our players. When Rod called to let me know I'd no longer be coaching, my only favor was to let me address the team. Because I deeply care about those guys. I wanted to convey there's still a great deal of hope for this team."

The Nets are expected to name a permanent -- at least, for this season -- replacement for Frank on Tuesday. Barrise and fellow Nets assistant coaches John Loyer and Doug Overton will garner consideration, according to Thorn, as will Nets' general manager Kiki Vandeweghe. Thorn also has not ruled out going outside the organization for a new coach. But whoever it is will very likely only be signed until the end of the season as New Jersey anticipates an ownership change in January.

Frank said he sensed the stigma of the losing streak instilled doubt in his players during the "guts of the game," but also maintained that the team has not stopped working hard, despite an injury-laden start that had starters Devin Harris, Courtney Lee and Yi Jianlian out for extended periods.

New Jersey can set the record for worst start to an NBA season when former Nets hero Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks invade the Izod Center on Wednesday night.

"It's a shame we've become a national story with the group and what we've done with the consecutive losing streak. But this group deserves better.

"You just kind of want to fight as long as you can fight to get a win. They need to validate their hard work (with a win). Everyone has to be on board and row that boat together.''

Frank, almost literally, took over for Byron Scott in January 2004 when Scott was ejected in a blowout win against the Boston Celtics. The diminutive and boyish-looking gym rat drew wide smiles from some players on the Nets' bench who were used to the steely cool of Scott, but before long Frank was having the last laugh. Scott was dismissed and Frank, his replacement, reeled off 13 straight wins to start his professional head coaching career.

Frank went on to win more games as New Jersey's coach than anyone, finishing with a 225-241 mark. He was the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference before Sunday's dismissal.

Frank thanked Thorn for being a "mentor" and also offered gratitude to his assistant coaches and trainers and the team's front office.

As for his own future, Frank said he would like to be a head coach in the NBA again. But for now, he's just reflecting on what should have been and what still can be for the Nets.

"There are a lot of mitigating factors," he said. "You go back to training camp and never developing chemistry because of injuries. But at the end of the day, those are excuses and other teams have won with them. We didn't get the job done. It wasn't for a lack of effort. As a head coach, I accept responsibility for an inability to win the games we had a chance to win. You learn and move on."