http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/26/sports/basketball/nets-buy-out-former-coach-lawrence-frank.html 2014-09-25 20:00:48 Nets Buy Out Former Coach Lawrence Frank Frank was hired as Jason Kidd’s top assistant before last season, but he was marginalized after they disagreed on philosophy. === The Nets have reached an agreement with the assistant coach Lawrence Frank to buy out the remainder of his contract, according to person in the N.B.A. with knowledge of the situation. Frank, 44, joined the organization before the 2013-14 season on a six-year contract worth approximately $6 million. He was hired to serve as the top assistant to Jason Kidd, the team’s first-year coach. It was, at first, a celebrated reunion. Frank coached the Nets from 2004 to 2010, when the team was still playing its home games in New Jersey. Kidd played point guard for the team from 2001 to 2008. But friction emerged between Kidd and Frank as they disagreed on philosophies and roles. In December, Kidd announced in a pregame news conference that Frank had been reassigned from his coaching position and that his only responsibility moving forward would be writing daily reports to the rest of the staff. Though Frank technically remained on the coaching staff — his name continued to be listed alongside the other coaches on the team’s website — he essentially disappeared from sight, no longer appearing at games or at practices. It was a bizarre arrangement that will now finally come to an end. Frank’s departure is another unceremonious postscript to the Nets’ much-hyped 2013-14 season. Three months ago, Kidd left the team when his request to be granted significantly more power within the organizational hierarchy was denied. He was quickly released from the remaining two years of his contract and became coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, who sent the Nets two draft picks as compensation. The Nets will have their annual media day on Friday at their practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J., before opening training camp there on Saturday morning.