FanHouse LawrenceFrank

PHILADELPHIA -- They just made a stop in Philadelphia, so why not be the first to throw it out. Can the New Jersey Nets make a run at the 1972-73 76ers' all-time futility mark of 9-73?

The Nets are the NBA's only winless team at 0-6 after Friday night's 97-94 loss to the 76ers and every day another player seems to get hurt. Call them the New Jersey Gnats the way they're dropping like flies.

OK, so it's way too early to think these Nets are going to make history for basketball badness. And, besides, Nets guard Rafer Alston gets upset when somebody calls his team the NBA's worse.

"That does (hurt) because you know you have a lot of pride,'' Alston said. "It hurts to be considered the worst ... when you know you have a lot of basketball and life in your game and there's a lot of pride in each man.''

Who doesn't like a list, especially on a Monday morning when that's about all you can handle?

Training camps are opening, so here are five coaches likely to start feeling the heat if their teams don't get off to good starts.

Mike Dunleavy, L.A. Clippers: The Clippers head into the season with expectations, which might not be the best news for Dunleavy. He's got to figure out a way to reconfigure his relationship with Baron Davis so that the veteran point guard once again can thrive. If Dunleavy and Davis aren't on the same page, there's no hope in L.A.

In an announcement overshadowed by the playoffs on Wednesday, Nets boss Rod Thorn confirmed that coach Lawrence Frank will return for the 2009-10 season. Frank was under contract already, but Thorn had been publicly hedging on whether he'd return.

Never mind the lame duck status -- Thorn rightfully dismisses that potential issue, which always hovers in the NBA but rarely bites. (Coaches get canned in the middle of a contract just as frequently as in the final year of the contract.) But there is a problem here: Thorn's declarations last week that the players might have tuned out Frank. Admission is the first step to acceptance. Does this mean the Nets accept that Frank's voice isn't getting through to everyone?

Of the limited coaching carousel, few spots held actual uncertainty. One of these mysteries can be found in lovely East Rutherford, where the Nets coach Lawrence Frank continues to await his verdict.

This is not a situation in which mysterious anonymice appear in the New York media suggesting that Nets management might make a play for Avery Johnson or some such all while giving Frank the doomed "vote of confidence" in public. No, Nets boss Rod Thorn is quite transparently on the fence about whether to retain Frank. It's a bit refreshing, really. Refreshing and, in the end, irrational.

Boston whipped the Nets all over East Rutherford through the first half early Saturday, pulling out to a 68-39 lead. Apparently, it was the fault of Devin Harris and Vince Carter.

Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that neither Harris or Carter seemed terribly insulted by Lawrence Frank's decision to sit the starting backcourt for the entire second half. Frank started Keyon Dooling and Jarvis Hayes (not exactly a dynamic pair) in place of the stars in the third quarter. Frank tells D'Alessandro he's embarrassed he let it get that far.

With all eyes understandably on Dallas following the Jason Kidd trade, new New Jersey point guard Devin Harris has been a bit ignored. But, in a piece by the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's Jeff Caplan, Devin seems to embrace a future without Avery Johnson barking up his leg.

"I'm looking forward to having a little bit more control, a little bit more freedom over there. I love my teammates here, so it's mixed emotions, but I'm excited about the new challenge."

As has been said in other accounts, this move was made as much for Avery as anyone else. He's harped on leadership from the point guard position since taking over the job; it'd be hard to imagine Johnson not getting on Harris' case often, as Devin is a visibly young player (in that he doesn't always make the best play).

But Harris is a good point guard, and incredibly fast. Of course, Lawrence Frank likes to control the offense almost as much as Johnson. We'll see how the change translates, once Harris returns from injury.

New Jersey has issues, as no one will argue. Jason Kidd has gotten into the habit of blaming everyone, and that's likely the proper stance. If he pays attention to West Coast press, maybe he'll add another reason to place fault in Rod Thorn's lap.

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports the Nets personnel boss made only a nominal attempt to re-sign Mikki Moore, the big man who filled in for Nenad Krstic and performed admirably well.

Moore said Chicago offered him three years for $12 million, while Thorn called with a three-year, $10 million offer that was contingent on a quick response – "like 30 minutes," Moore said – that came before the Kings' proposal.

This isn't to say signing Mikki to a three-year, $13 million deal would have made things perfect in Jersey. But you know, Malik Allen and Jason Collins are combining for 36 minutes a night. Allen and Collins are combining to give Kidd and Friends 6.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Moore's dropping about 8/6 in 27 minutes for Sacramento -- not tremendous numbers, but consider how good he was when running with Kidd (he led the league in both FG% and post-dunk screams)... you can imagine the upgrade over the current scenario. (He's also hilarious entertainment on the court, which the Nets could probably use.)

It seems Lawrence Frank is coming around to realize how terrible his frontcourt has become, as Sean Williams and Josh Boone seem to be getting longer looks. But it's going to take a lot more than that to make Kidd happy again.

The Spurs have changed the league. Perhaps taking a page out of the Manu Ginobili playbook, more teams have placed stars in bench roles to shake things up. Dallas has brought Jason Terry off the bench this season and now Lawrence Frank is toying with putting Vince Carter in the sixth man role despite dude being back to full health. Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger gets Frank to explain.

"Vince is a little fresher with that second group, (so) does it help us in those second quarters? We'll just kind of read it. It has nothing to do with his performance - he's an All-Star player - it just balances out our team a little bit."

If Antoine Wright's defense helps the first line and Vince's scoring helps the second shift, then of course it's the right move. Forum Blue & Gold hosted a conversation along these lines last week: Do you start your best players or the line-up which fits best? The starters might be better with Vince than Wright, but the benefit to the second line should outweigh that. I mean, RIchard Jefferson can score. Of course, Vince makes $15 million a year. If you do bring him off the bench, you still need him 36+ minutes a night at that price.

Manu might have sewn up the Sixth Man award in the first week of the season this year. But if more teams move towards this strategy, the trophy will either become hardly fought over or irrelevant.

Rod Thorn (sorry, Rod, we'll get 'em next year) gave Lawrence Frank a pretty strong vote of confidence (though I suppose those things are never too strong) yesterday. Addressing Frank's job status, Thorn had this to say, via the New York Post:

"Lawrence is doing fine," Thorn said. "There's still a long way to go in this season and he's doing everything he can to get us in (the playoffs). But we have put ourselves in a tenuous situation."

Thorn clearly stressed that if the Nets do not reach the playoffs, it would have "no impact" on the decision whether Frank returns.

No impact? Well, then what would have an impact? If you're in the Eastern Conference, and you don't make the playoffs ... forgive my bluntness, but you suck. You really suck. If you can't crack the Top 8 in the East, you better be in rebuilding mode.

The Nets are not. They're in the East, with two superstar players ... how do they not make the playoffs? I know Jefferson and Krstic have been injured, I know that they start Mikki Moore, but again ... it's the East. If you have Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and a few warm bodies, you should be making the playoffs. I don't think that's asking too much. At the very least, the Nets shouldn't be as boring as they are.