The Cleveland Cavaliers were moving deliberately in their search for a new head coach, but there appeared to be no rush. James Borrego was rumored to be on the top of their coaching list, and while the Lakers have a job opening and interviewed him, Los Angeles appears to be heading in a different direction (J.J. Redick).
Then the Pistons surprised everyone and fired Monty Williams — even Williams was “blindsided” by the firing (the Pistons just hired a new assistant coach a couple of days ago, not a move made before a coach is fired). Immediately in league circles the first name that came up was Borrego, and suddenly it feels like the Cavaliers may have moved too slowly.
Here are three names to watch in the Pistons coaching search, plus an extra note on Monty Williams’s future, which will probably not be in Los Angeles.
James Borrego
It’s easy to connect the dots: Detroit owner Tom Gores was understandably frustrated after a 14-68 season and brought in a new head of basketball operations in Trajan Langdon out of New Orleans, where James Borrego was a top assistant coach last season under Willie Green. Borrego and Langdon are known to have a good relationship. When Gores decided to fire Williams, everybody in the league looked in the same direction, and there are multiple reports of the Pistons’ interest.
One of the names I’m hearing the Pistons will strongly consider: James Borrego, who’s interviewed with the Lakers and Cavs on their coaching openings, sources tell @YahooSports
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) June 19, 2024
Borrego is a player-friendly, offensive-minded coach with a solid player development history. He worked with LaMelo Ball, P.J. Washington and Malik Monk when he was the head coach in Charlotte, and is given credit for some of Zion Williamson’s play last season in New Orleans. (He didn’t do as well with Hornets draftees such as JT Thor and James Bouknight, although Borrego backers would say that was more about Mitch Kupchak’s drafting in Charlotte than the coaching.) The Pistons might want to hire a top defensive assistant to go with Borrego.
There’s a reason that every team that has had a head coaching opening this season has had Borrego high on their list. There’s a sense from many around the league that he’s a quality coach who did a lot of good in Charlotte — the Hornets won 76 games there his final two years and seemed to be making progress, they have won 48 games the two seasons since he left.
Johnnie Bryant
The Knicks’ top assistant under Tom Thibodeau came out of the player-development team in Utah, where he worked with guys such as Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell (that pairing never completely meshed, but the player development in Utah was impressive). He’s 38, players love him, and he’s one of the guys at the front of the line of top assistant coaches who deserve a shot in the big chair.
Bryant should head a tier of guys who are top assistants such as Micah Nori (Timberwolves), Sean Sweeney (Mavericks) and Chris Quinn (Heat) who will at least get a look.
J.J. Redick
I’ll be honest, I don’t really see the fit here, but the well-connected Vincent Goodwill at Yahoo Sports — someone with as good a feel for the Pistons organization as anyone — mentioned him highly as a name to watch. Like with Borrego, it’s not hard to connect the dots: Langdon and Redick are both Duke guys, and both were in New Orleans with the Pelicans simultaneously. The relationship is there.
However, the Pistons are going to be a player development process for a few years, trying to build something around Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and whoever they select in a week with the No. 5 pick. Is the untested Redick the right guy to lead that? He unquestionably understands player development, you would be hard-pressed to find a better example of a player who adjusted his body and game to fit a role in the NBA than Redick. But doing it and teaching it are two different things. Is this the roll of the dice the Pistons would want to take?
Besides, getting an audience with Redick might be tough if he is close to the Lakers’ job.
Monty Williams future and the Lakers
When news of Williams being fired came out Wednesday morning, the “anyone but Redick” camp of Lakers nation made its plea to consider the newest coach on the market. There is some logic there: Williams struggled to develop and connect with the young Pistons, but a couple of years before, he coached a veteran Phoenix Suns team to the NBA Finals. Would he connect better with a veteran Lakers team?
Don’t bet on seeing it, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported not long after the firing. Look at it this way: The Lakers are a star-driven team, while the decision to fire Williams in Phoenix was part of Mat Ishbia’s new owner syndrome, if Devin Booker and Kevin Durant had lept to Williams’ defense, he would not have been let go (not that Ishbia was consulting with everyone). Draw whatever conclusions you want from that.
Plus, if you’re Williams, you had roughly $20 million left on your contract when the Suns fired you, and about $67 million on the Pistons’ contract when they fired you, is your next step to take on all the drama and politics that comes with coaching LeBron James and the Lakers? Or are you sipping mai tai s on a beach somewhere?
