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Sources: Nets oust Frank after 16 losses
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By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
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The New Jersey Nets have fired coach Lawrence Frank, according to sources with knowledge of the decision.
TrueHoop: Nets Hold Telling History
If the Nets' previous firings are any indication, coach Lawrence Frank has a 50-50 chance of even boarding the team's charter flight Sunday night, Chris Sheridan writes.
Frank will not coach the Nets in Sunday night's road game against the Los Angeles Lakers, when New Jersey will try to avoid matching the worst start in NBA history.
Sources said that the Nets -- mired at 0-16 after Friday's loss in Sacramento -- wanted to delay the widely anticipated coaching change until after the team returned from its four-game West Coast trip. Yet it appears that Nets management determined that it had to make the move before facing the Lakers after reports became more widespread that Frank's dismissal was imminent.
The Bergen (N.J.) Record and Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday that Frank's firing was expected as early as Monday no matter the outcome Sunday against the Lakers. After New Jersey's first loss of the week Tuesday in Denver, ESPN.com quoted a source close to the situation as saying that Frank could not survive a winless trip.
Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.
