Nets Give Lawrence Frank Four Years Of Detention

Jason Kidd and the Nets have "reassigned" head assistant Lawrence Frank, and following the change, Frank will no longer be on the bench during games or at practice. If that sounds like being fired, it is, except for the part where Frank owes Kidd a book report every day.

Here's Woj:

Kidd told reporters on Tuesday night that Frank – the highest-paid assistant in the NBA – had been reassigned to writing daily reports and would no longer be on the Nets bench. It is unclear if the Nets will actually require Frank to perform those duties to gather the rest of his $1 million annual coaching contract, league sources said.

Frank's deal is for the next six years, but includes four years of coaching—presumably those final two years are more of a front office position. (He is also still owed money after being let go as head coach in Detroit.) And so now, the highest paid assistant in the league will be filing a daily report that no one will read—unless Kidd gives it a once-over to see if he can dock Frank any salary for spelling—because he and Kidd couldn't agree on coaching philosophies that had already been agreed to over the summer.

This probably goes a little deeper than just the ritualistic sacrifice of the defensive coordinator on an underperforming should-be contender. If you go through and read all of the team sources, Kidd kind of comes off as a crazy person, or just too inexperienced to handle such a strong presence from an assistant. Which is all fine and notable, but secondary. Our primary concern should be Lawrence Frank coming to school every day, not allowed to play with the other kids, and writing his sad little report in his sad little office.

[ Yahoo, CBS]