Lawrence Frank or Mike Woodson: Who would you take?

[Brown Mamba]

Looks like the Detroit Pistons just decided on making Lawrence Frank their next head coach (in what could also spell the demise of Joe Dumars, but that's another story).

Question is: Lawrence Frank it appears barely beat out Mike Woodson for the head coaching position. Who deserved it?

In my opinion, the Pistons made the best lemonade they could out of a pair of lemons. I like Frank's toughness and NBA mind, and frankly (no pun intended), think he is a better NBA coach that Mike Woodson. I don't like his ability and gravitas in getting this young team to the next level.

Re: Mike Woodson, yes, I realize he had a better record for some consecutive number of years with the Hawks (we seen TNT flash the stat dozens of times during the playoffs). But, the Hawks had talent and I don't feel they were ever as disciplined as they should have been under Woodson.

[alex]

lawrencwe frank is an ok choice, but the team still sucks, and as a fan, im the first to admit it. ill give frank three years, maybe more, to turn the ship around, but right now, he isnt going to stick. woodson= better coach, i dont care about discipline, he turned the hawks from basement dwellers to playoff contenders, and in my mind, the nets had three stars (kidd cartner and jefferson) and never achieved what they should of, whereas the hawks overachieved. anyway, they players didnt respect kuester, why would they respect lawrence frank, another small white guy. anyhow- frank never finished with more than 50 wins in a season, and the hawks did. franks teams went farther in the playoffs however. so its a toss up there.

[The NBA Realist]

lawrencwe frank is an ok choice, but the team still sucks, and as a fan, im the first to admit it. ill give frank three years, maybe more, to turn the ship around, but right now, he isnt going to stick. woodson= better coach, i dont care about discipline, he turned the hawks from basement dwellers to playoff contenders, and in my mind, the nets had three stars (kidd cartner and jefferson) and never achieved what they should of, whereas the hawks overachieved. anyway, they players didnt respect kuester, why would they respect lawrence frank, another small white guy. anyhow- frank never finished with more than 50 wins in a season, and the hawks did. franks teams went farther in the playoffs however. so its a toss up there.

Alex, I am not sure that I agree with you that the Hawks overachieved when Woodson took over. I actually believe they played exactly to the level that they should have with Joe Johnson, Smith, Bibby, and Hortford. Don't get me wrong, they are not championship caliber, but a 4 or 5 seed is right where I expect them.

[alex]

realist- joe johnson josh smith and mike bibby are certainly not vinsanity, jkidd and richard jefferson. johnsons certainly better than jefferson but woodson developed his stars, whereas frank recieved two readymade stars. thats the central difference for me

[Brown Mamba]

Alex -- I think you're overstating things a bit here, there were rarely extended stretches of time during Frank's tenure where the trio you mentioned were fully healthy, and if you look at Frank's record over the time when they were, it actually was quite good. If you look at his seasons, you will see he did have a fair measure of success:

* 2003-4: Became coach midseason and turned around struggling Nets team to win the Atlantic Division. Lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs to NBA champs Detroit (and that series went to Game 7, and Jason Kidd was injured)

* 2004-5: Team changed dramatically, Kittles and K-Mart were traded away. Kidd was coming off microfracture surgery. The acquired Vince Carter midway through the season but Jefferson then went down with a season ending injury. Still they made the playoffs and got bounced by Shaq/Wade and the Miami Heat.

* 2005-6: Won the Atlantic Division title again. Again lost to the Shaq/Wade team that eventually won it all. (and did not have Cliff Robinson, their primary defender vs. Shaw for the majority of the series)

* 2006-7: Again had a series of injuries including major injuries to both Jefferson and their starting center, Nenad Krstic. Still made playoffs and advance to 2nd round before losing to Lebron and the Cavs.

* 2007-8: ANOTHER mess of injuries, this time to Vince Carter and Nenad Krstic (again). Traded Kidd midway through the season. Missed playoffs. This season could be argued as a disappointment for Frank, but given the injuries and trade, I'm not sure if it's that bad.

* 2008-9: Complete rebuilding year. Jefferson and Carter both traded. Hard to judge Frank's performance given the complete lack of talent.

So in all -- I think Frank had a fairly decent showing with the Nets and actually demonstrated the ability to come back under adverse conditions multiple times and lead his team to some measure of success.

[alex]

im not disputing you here mamba, i am just wondering where you got those summaries, because i could not remember that all individually. i could use summaries like that. anyhow, im not saying woodson is a better choice, hes just a better coach. horford is a 1st class center with help with development from woodson. kristic is a half rate center these days, in part due to his slew of injuries and a lack of development- he regressed even before the injury. horford developed strongly under woodson. the pistons need a coach that can develop players, but lawrence frank is the coach, so maybe you guys will prove correct, but we will never know for sure