Nets president Rod Thorn is still convinced that Lawrence Frank is the right man to coach the team, according to the Associated Press.

New Jersey has missed the postseason in each of the last two years under Frank, who is the longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference.

"In my mind, Lawrence is a very good coach," Thorn said. "The players understand he knows what he is doing and they play hard for him."

Frank has a year left on a contract that will pay him $4.5 million next season.

A source familiar with the Nets has informed Tommy Dee of TheKnicksBlog.com that Lawrence Frank will remain as head coach of the team to start the 2009-10 season.

Jason Kidd decided to remain with the Nets as a free agent in 2003, passing over what could have been a golden opportunity to join the Spurs.

"It may be a silly excuse, but I wanted to try to win a championship on my own, and we had that opportunity in New Jersey," Kidd told the Dallas Morning News. "Then, the Nets went in a whole different direction.

"San Antonio did everything right. I just didn't make the right decision at the time."

Unsure of whether or not Kidd was really expressing regret, the News then asked if he wished he had joined the Spurs.

"Well, they've won two championships since then," Kidd said. "I might have had a ring by now."

Nets president Rod Thorn will soon decide the fate of coach Lawrence Frank, who is entering the final year of his contract.

Thorn met with high-ranking team officials on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.

"I have always liked Lawrence as a coach and been supportive of Lawrence," Thorn said Wednesday. "I know a lot of good things he does as a coach, it's part of it. We've won a certain number of games two years in a row and it's natural we sit down, we always sit down at the end of the year and talk about players, coaches, and this is part of it."

Frank has been New Jersey's coach since January 2004.

The money still owed to Lawrence Frank may be the deciding factor in keeping him as head coach of the New Jersey Nets, the New York Daily News is reporting.

Frank is owed approximately $4.5 million next season, and with the team losing upwards of $30 million a year it is unlikely that the Nets pay out Frank as well as a new coach.

Frank does have the support of Nets owner Bruce Ratner and team leaders Vince Carter and Devin Harris, but team president Rod Thorn has not been willing to guarantee that Frank will be back next season.

Nets point guard Devin Harris told the Star-Ledger on Wednesday night that he will not need surgery on his troublesome shoulder.

"No, I've just got to strengthen it more than anything," said Harris. "I haven't had time to do that."

RealGM Note: Despite missing 13 games, Harris ranked 11th among point guards in FIC this season.

Nets coach Lawrence Frank may have coached his final game for the team on Wednesday night, but isn't worried about what lies in his future.

"Coaching is what it is," Frank said before the Nets lost to the Knicks, 102-73. "This is the profession we chose. We love what we do. We understand every year there's an evaluation process. We just let the chips fall where they may."

New Jersey team president Rod Thorn has declined to give Frank a public endorsement, but team sources indicate that he'll more than likely return next season.

"I think the coach has done a good job this year," said owner Bruce Ratner. "Obviously our record is not where we'd like it to be, but the coach has done a good job. I like the coach."

Agent Dan Fegan believes the Nets are to blame for Yi Jianlian's disappointing season.

"In the 10 games Yi has played 30-plus minutes and taken 10 or more shots, he has averaged 17.5 points, shot 47 percent, 40 from 3-point line, and 7.3 rebounds," Fegan said. "You can't just fake that. Those are strong numbers for any player -- let alone a second-year player."

Fegan believes that New Jersey is stalling Yi's development.

"They Nets were 18-18 before Yi got injured. Then they were 6-10 when he was out. And they've been a dismal 14-29 since he broke his finger and eventually taken out of the rotation," Fegan said.

"To me, the question isn't Yi's performance or upside. The real question is this: How can a team go from 18-18 and sixth place in the Eastern Conference before he gets hurt to seven games out of playoff contention now?

"It begs the question," the agent concluded. "What happened, and who's accountable?"

Sports Illustrated has picked New Jersey point guard Devin Harris as their choice for this season's Most Improved Player award.

Chris Mannix was doing the writing for Sports Illustrated.

Mannix wrote that Harris "has delivered, with averages of 21.8 points and 7.0 assists; the only players with better numbers in both those categories are (LeBron) James, (Dwyane) Wade, and (Chris) Paul."

Vince Carter knows that there will be persistent trade rumors involving his name this summer, but insists that he wants to remain with the Nets.

"Absolutely," Carter said of wanting to stay in New Jersey. "Like I said, I'd love to finish what we started. I think we've built some good things together."

Carter is expected to be coveted by teams, but his contract (which will pay him $16.1 million next season, and $17.5 million in 2010-11) could hamper any possible deal.

The Nets are known to be fond of Carter as well.