By Terry Brown
NBA Insider
Wednesday, February 25
Updated: February 25
9:58 AM ET

Apparently, winning every single game isn't quite enough for the New Jersey Nets' front office.

Since taking over as head coach of the team, Lawrence Frank has gone 13-0, winning by an average of 12.7 points per game as the Nets have gone from a mediocre 22-20 to 35-20 and second-place in the Eastern Conference.

They are, no doubt, the hottest team in the NBA, an almost certain playoff contender and, perhaps, the favorite to return to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row.

The problem, though, is that Frank is still listed as the "interim" head coach and does not have a contract that extends beyond this season.

"I don't have any concern about that," said Frank in the New York Daily News. "The only concern that we have is the team. We're not concerned about contracts, whatever. It's totally irrelevant to what we're trying to get done."

But ESPN understands the magnitude of the 13-0 streak, the longest in professional sports history by a new coach. They sent their Outside The Lines crew over to the Nets' locker room to get the story. CNBC was already there, as was CNN.


Interim coach Lawrence Frank's stock elevates with each record-setting Nets victory.
Perhaps they've forgotten that they are, indeed, the New Jersey Nets, proud owners of a 903-1,279 franchise record. In their 27 years as an NBA club, they've had only nine winning seasons. An average season has them finishing at 34-48.

They almost lost Jason Kidd to free agency last year. They could lose Kenyon Martin the free agency next year.

This year, they are on course to go 53-29, which would be the best season record in franchise history.

Or maybe they've forgotten that Frank's best friend is Andy Miller. You might not know him from Adam, but Kevin Garnett does. He's the agent who got KG the highest salary in NBA history, a contract that will pay the Timberwolves forward $28 million this season alone.

More than Shaq. More than Tim Duncan. More than anyone else in the entire NBA.

Maybe you haven't heard that, as an 11-year-old, Frank saved up his paper route money to buy a video recorder to tape Knicks games so that he could sketch out plays. Or, as the Baltimore Sun continues, he coached the local Catholic Youth team despite being Jewish. Or that he was his high school's assistant coach despite being cut three times from the team. Or that he went to Indiana not to play but to learn coaching from Bobby Knight.

This guy was born to coach. All he wants to do is coach. You get the distinct feeling that he would be just as happy to coach a pee wee team as any NBA team so long as it was basketball.

How about the Hawks? Or the Celtics? Or the Sixers? Or the Bulls? Or the Magic?

And that's just the Eastern Conference jobs that will be available this summer.

So, the problem isn't that Frank looks perfectly at peace with himself and his situation. The problem, for Nets fans, anyway, is that the Nets' front office also looks at peace despite the situation.

"That will take care of itself," Nets CEO Rod Thorn said.

* 'Interim' will do for now
Ohm Youngmisuk / New York Daily News
* After long years of preparation, Nets' Frank just getting starte
Don Markus / Baltimore Sun

Peep Show

NBA Insider
Wednesday, February 25
Updated: February 25
9:43 AM ET


McGrady
Orlando Magic: Tracy McGrady is eligible for a contract extension this August. He just isn't sure he wants it. "I've got to wait and see what happens this summer and next season before I do anything," McGrady told Florida Today. "I don't necessarily want to be a free agent, but I've got to wait and see what changes are going to come around here. I just can't go through this again -- all this losing." Of course, he can still opt for the security of high income until the year 2010 by signing with the Magic or he can take his chances with the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Either way, McGrady says the ball is in the Magic's court. "The ball is out of my hands now," McGrady said. "It's in management's hands now."

New York Knicks: Dikembe Mutombo isn't tired of shooting baskets or blocking shots. He's tired of waking up every morning to find out some young player has taken his position because he is, simply, younger. "I'm feeling like I have enough of this game," Mutombo said in the New York Times. "Just 13 years, man, you're getting tired of this." And he's tired of hearing this. "He's not what he was five years ago," Knicks head coach Lenny Wilkens said. So the 37-year-old will ask and answer this question one more time. "I have a question about it," Mutombo said. "If there's a sense of the direction that the team must go, I will respect that. Then I will have to make my own decision, if I want to keep playing or what I want to do."


Dampier
Golden State Warriors: Center Erick Dampier can also opt out of his contract this summer and says money isn't everything. "I haven't been to the playoffs and I'm not getting any younger," he said to the Indianapolis Star. "I'm to the point now where I want to win games." And he knows the easiest way to twin as a team and as an individual is to get to the inferior East. "I'd have a chance to be an All-Star," he said. "How many centers are there in the East? Not to take anything away from Jamaal Magloire. But he made the All-Star team in the East, so I know I can definitely (succeed)."

Boston Celtics: Vin Baker, through his people, contends that the Celtics still owe him $36 million. His people also contend that they want the matter settled quickly because Baker still wants to play. "Our focus now is to get clarity on whether Vin can sign with another team," said Baker's agent, Aaron Goodwin, in the Boston Herald. "It's more than interest from other teams at this point," Goodwin said. "I'm regularly talking to other teams about Vin . . . But the Celtics will still pick up the $36 million, regardless of where he goes. What we're doing right now is making sure that nothing changes as far as that goes." Baker's team hopes to start the process within 30 days. "He's working out, and he's keeping himself prepared," Goodwin said. "I want people to understand that regardless of what Boston is saying, he's ready. His spirits are good. Strangely enough, though he's been wronged by the Celtics, Vin is in great spirits."

Miami Heat: Lamar Odom is just happy to be involved in an NBA playoff race for the first time in his career. "To find myself in position to make the playoffs feels great," he told the Sun Sentinel. "I feel really happy and proud to be a part of it. I've been watching playoff basketball probably since I was about 8 years old, 9 years old, really understanding what was going on. This is a special moment for a guy like me, who's been watching all his life. Playing yourself into this feels good." Because he certainly knows how it feels to play in March and April when you've already been eliminated. "Those games are like the worst games to play in," he said. "They're meaningless. Nobody cares."