L. Frank Is The Right Guy
By: Matt Dery
Pistons fans always wonder whether the current coach is the right fit for the organization. Who can blame them? While the Pistons have had boatloads of success during the Joe Dumars tenure as President/GM, the head coaching position has never been a comfortable chair. Rick Carlisle was tremendous, but lasted just two seasons. Larry Brown won a championship, again, he lasted just two seasons. The Pistons hired Flip Saunders and made the conference finals all three years with him at the helm, but then he was let go. The Mike Curry and John Kuester eras lasted just 1 and 2 years respectively. See a pattern here? But in Lawrence Frank, I see the Pistons having the right captain to the ship and a guy who will be here a long time.
Frank gets it. He knows what he signed up for when he took the job and he is the perfect compliment to Joe D. Lawrence understands the tradition here and he also knows how to push the right buttons when it comes to managing the players and their personalities. Will Bynum said it best after last night's blowout win over Charlotte; Coach is never 100 percent pleased. Even though the club won by 24 points on the road, Lawrence did not love how the team finished the game. He sees that his guys can get better and pushes them to strive for greatness, despite its 22-36 record. Many teams in the Pistons'
position would just be happy with sweeping a season series from the Bobcats, but not L Frank. He wants development and to take steps forward, but he also hates losing. He hates that there should ever be a stain on this proud franchise. Joe D feels the same way. This, despite the fact, that the team has made it clear that they are rebuilding.
Lawrence Frank is the right man for the job. Rodney Stuckey is now thriving under the coach's guidance and so is Jason Maxiell. No one would have thought that possible back in late December.
