June 6, 2011STEINMETZ ARCHIVEWARRIORS PAGEWARRIORS VIDEOMatt SteinmetzCSNBayArea.com
Apparently, Boston Celtics assistant coach Lawrence Frank is no longer a candidate for the Warriors' head coaching position. Yahoo! Sports reported on Monday that Frank has taken his name out of consideration for the job.The real question is whether or not Frank was a serious candidate. It looks like he might have been early but not so much lately. Maybe Frank saw the handwriting on the wall in Golden State. Or maybe he'd rather be in Toronto or Detroit.Frank was one of approximately a dozen candidates to meet with members of the Warriors' front office -- after the Warriors elected not to pick up the option on Keith Smart's contract for the 2011-12 season.However, there is little to suggest anything progressed past initial discussions.
It seems the Warriors' coaching search has taken on a pattern. General manager Larry Riley and assistant general manager Bob Myers initially met with several candidates, and then apparently the more serious candidates meet with owner Joe Lacob.San Antonio assistant coach Mike Budenholzer, ESPN and ABC analyst Mark Jackson and New Orleans assistant coach Mike Malone have met with Lacob. It is being reported that after the NBA Finals, Lacob will meet with Dallas assistant coach Dwane Casey.Frank, however, had not met with Lacob. And neither have Lakers assistants Brian Shaw and Chuck Person. In the past week, the Raptors announced they were not retaining Jay Triano and ditto for the Pistons and John Kuester.It seems possible Frank feels he's a better fit for one of those Eastern Conference teams. Frank coached the New Jersey nets for parts of seven seasons and spent 2010-11 in Boston under Doc Rivers.The Warriors also had preliminary discussions with Mike Brown and Kevin McHale. But the Lakers hired Brown and the Rockets hired McHale. Early on in the process, the Warriors reached out to former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, but each declined to be interviewed.
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