Frank's job is safe for now. (Getty Images)

I've watched a lot of Pistons basketball this season. Call me a masochist. But as I'm rumbling through League Pass, I will fill in commercial gaps with them. I've also seen them once in person and have caught their best and worst games. (They have one best game and a lot of worst games.)

It should be noted it is slightly inexplicable how they are as bad as they are. They have a great player in Greg Monroe. They have a talented, young point guard in Brandon Knight. Rodney Stuckey thrived in sets with Knight last year. They have veteran leadership from Tayshaun Prince and capable bench players in Jason Maxiell and Jonas Jerebko. 

So how is the team this bad? And what are the repercussions?

ESPN reports that coach Lawrence Frank, facing a 1-9 start after a loss to Orlando on Friday, is not on ye old seat of warmth:

The word in coaching circles is that Detroit's Lawrence Frank would not have faced any immediate danger even if the Pistons hadn't halted the worst start in franchise history, at 0-8, by finally beating Philadelphia at home Wednesday night.

The reality is that the Pistons are essentially looking at a developmental season for their young players like Monroe and rookie Andre Drummond before coming into some salary-cap space in July. And player development is regarded as one of Frank's strengths.

You have to presume patience, by now, is another one after those three straight stumbles out of the gate.

Stuckey's regression has been difficult. But maybe the biggest concern is that the Pistons don't seem engaged or like they buy into what Frank is selling. This team started similarly last season, before righting the ship and playing some quality basketball before a late-season tank job.

The Pistons are just not engaged play-to-play, rotation-to-rotation. At some point, that's on Frank. But it's also on the veterans. This is the same team that rebelled against John Kuester two seasons ago. If guys aren't buying into multiple ideologies, at some point it's not the coaches' side that's the problem. 

As is the case anytime word that a coach is safe leaks, Frank should probably bring a box to the office just in case.