Lawrence Frank has told Pistons owner Tom Gores and team president Joe Dumars that he doesn't want to return as coach unless they exercise his option for 2014/15, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Frank is concerned about being a lame-duck coach as the team continues to rebuild, Wojnarowski writes. The team has already picked up Frank's option for next season, but he's reportedly on thin ice after leading the team to back-to-back lottery seasons in his two years as coach.
The Pistons will be on the hook for Frank's salary next season regardless of whether he's their coach. Wojnarowski pegs that guarantee at $4MM, while Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News has the figure at $3.7MM. The 2014/15 option would be for $4MM, according to Wojnarowski. Regardless, Gores wasn't enthusiastic when he spoke about the performance of Frank and Dumars earlier this week, and Frank wasn't optimistic when he spoke to reporters, including Goodwill, before the team's loss to the Nets tonight.
"Let's hope for the best, but we understand what reality could be," the coach said. "There's dialogue there so we'll see what happens."
The Pistons are expected to give Frank their decision tomorrow. A decision could be coming soon on Dumars as well, as a report this weekend suggested he could be on his way out as well.
Fire Frank and bring in Stan Van Gundy ! His staff that included Patrick Ewing would be a major upgrade!
Go get nate McMillan. …