On one side of the scale: Monty Williams just oversaw the worst season in Detroit Pistons history, a 14-68 campaign with a historic 28-game losing streak that included some puzzling rotation decisions and not much player development.
On the other side of the scale: Just one year ago owner Tom Gores gave Williams the richest coaching contract the league had seen (up to that point) and they still owe him five years, $67.5 million.
Gores made the call on Tuesday night and Monty Williams has been fired as the Pistons head coach, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and confirmed by the Pistons themselves. While new team president Trajan Langdon reportedly had the power to remove Williams, with that much money involved — and the fact Gores pushed hard for Williams a year ago — the firing was always going to be an ownership call.
“Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication,” Gores said in announcing the firing. “Coaching has many dynamic challenges that emerge during a season and Monty always handled those with grace. However, after reviewing our performance carefully and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course moving forward.
“I have great respect for Monty as a coach and as a person, and I am certain he will be successful in his future endeavors. I sincerely wish him and his family the very best.”
Williams initially turned down the Pistons last summer after being let go in Phoenix (another ownership call, that was Mat Ishbia’s work), saying he wanted to spend time with his wife Lisa after her cancer diagnosis. However, after positive early signs and her treatment going well, and the fact Gores kept offering more money, Williams agreed to take the job.
What followed was a second consecutive season in which the Pistons had the worst record in the NBA, and this time with historic losing streak. Beyond that, the young Pistons team just didn’t show many signs of development or show a lot of hope for the future. All that led to a front office change with Troy Weaver out and Langdon in, but a coaching change was never a certainty because of the money involved.
The list of names to watch for this job starts with James Borrego — Landgon came to Detroit from New Orleans, where Borrego is still officially an assistant coach, and the two are known to have a strong relationship. Borrego is considered a frontrunner for the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching job and is still in the mix with the Los Angeles Lakers (although J.J. Redick is the frontrunner there).
Other names to watch are Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Knicks assistant Johnny Bryant, and Sean Sweeney, an assistant with the Mavericks who had been a Pistons assistant under Dwane Casey and is strong with player development (he did a lot of work with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee).
Whoever takes over the job needs to develop potential building blocks Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duran Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey, as well as whoever the Pistons select with the No. 5 pick in this draft.
