NBA Rumors: Doc Rivers Promoting Lawrence Frank To Vice President Of Los Angeles Clippers

More details have emerged about Lawrence Frank and his change of position. According to Yahoo! Sports, the longtime NBA coach is making the move to the front office of the Los Angeles Clippers. Frank is going to be transitioning from assistant coach to executive vice president of basketball operations soon.

When reports first surfaced that Lawrence Frank was going to be leaving the Los Angeles Clippers coaching staff, some were under the impression that he was being punished by head coach Doc Rivers. Many felt that it was actually a demotion that the franchise was trying to sell as a promotion.

It turns out that Lawrence Frank was actually receiving a promotion. Doc Rivers wants him to take over the front office. As vice president, Frank will report directly to Rivers, who operates as both the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and the team president. Frank is essentially the second in command.

As the vice president, Lawrence Frank is being tasked with the chore of restructuring the front office. Doc Rivers feels that he has not been able to devote the proper amount of time to the management side of his job, so he is turning to a trusted associate in Frank to do that.

The move has caused some to wonder what the Los Angeles Clippers are going to be doing with Dave Wohl. The OC Register is reporting that Wohl is going to remain with the team as the general manager, but he will now be reporting to both Doc Rivers and Lawrence Frank.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is said to be all on board with the decision to promote Lawrence Frank. Ballmer, who was formerly associated with Microsoft, has said to be committing quite a bit of resources towards improving the front office.

Sources on @TheVertical: Clippers promote Lawrence Frank to EVP of Basketball Ops, charged w/ reshaping front office https://t.co/s8KFqcQQY3

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2016

SB Nation believes that the promotion of Lawrence Frank was done with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in mind. Both players can become free agents next summer. The Los Angeles Clippers definitely do not want to lose two of their three franchise players.

There is also the possibility that the promotion of Lawrence Frank was a move by the Los Angeles Clippers to lure Kevin Durant. The Oklahoma City Thunder star is the most coveted player in free agency. The Clippers are meeting with the 6’9? forward on Friday to see if he would be interested in joining the roster.

Signing Kevin Durant might require a lot more than Lawrence Frank. Right now, the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, and Oklahoma City Thunder are also in the running to sign the All-Star. The New York Knicks are trying to secure themselves a meeting with Durant as well.

Though Lawrence Frank has been a head coach for the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons, there are reports that state that he has had his eyes on a front office position for the past couple of years.

In his new position, Lawrence Frank will be replacing Kevin Eastman. He was the previous vice president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. Eastman was also a long time associate of Doc Rivers. He announced his retirement from the NBA earlier this month.

The working relationship between Doc Rivers and Lawrence Frank appears to be stronger than ever. The former is asking the latter to help him take control of the Los Angeles Clippers. That’s a pretty tall task to put on someone. Frank will play a pivotal role in ensuring that Rivers gets to keep his job.

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