Since the January of 03-04 season how can you not approve of Franks Job? He lead the team to a string of wins to start his career, bringing the Nets back to life, and pushing the eventual NBA champs to their max on the road in 7 games. Back when he had a some decent players bench, he was able to get the most out of them, like Scalabrine, as they played a vital part in the Nets sucess in the playoffs, more importantly managing them during the playoffs when the stars got in trouble.
In addition, he has done a good job at managing Kidd's minutes as he gets older and has allowed VC to be the primary ball handler on offense at times with RJ developing into one of the better overall players in the league, while also developing one the best young centers in the game in Krstic.
With what he has on his roster, 49-33 and a division title is a big accomplishment based on the way the roster is put together. The Nets could of had 52 or so win season if they hadn't locked up the division title with ease. What can you expect from a Nets team with 33 year old Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, RJ, Krstic and Collins (who doesn't score) plus no bench? Sure a playoff spot with those 4 big names, but 49 wins is alot of a production.
Some changes he has made the have proven to be effective; Reducing Kidd's ball handling, getting Krstic involved in pick and rolls more with Carter, give RJ enough touches to develop while being highly efficient. All of these moves have paid off and allowed the Nets to be effective during long stretches for the season. Carter bringing the ball up and giving Kidd the ball past half court allows Kidd to survey the defense before gaining possession of the ball. This allows the offense to be more creative and more effective when in Kidd's or VC's hands.
Although the Nets have been knocked out of the playoffs 2 years in a row by the Heat, how could you expect more? In the 04-05 playoffs the Nets had no bench, and no RJ until later in the series versus the Heat, where clearly he wasn't 100% percent. Yet again in 05-06 the Nets faced the Heat, the eventual NBA champs, and showed promise of beating them, however they came short, but there's no shame in losing to the Champs. Although the Nets could of take a few games from the Heat, Krstic's fatigue really started to set in, and the Nets became less effective against a surging Heat team.
Overall, Lawrence Frank has done superb as the Nets Head Coach, especially from the 04-05 season to now. There's no coach out there that can do anything to make the Nets a better team with the roster the Nets have had. Lawrence has pushed the team to their max every year.
