As reported by NBA insider Shams Charania, the Detroit Pistons filled their head coaching vacancy last night by hiring former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams. During his four years with the Suns, Williams posted a regular season record of 194-115 and made one NBA Finals appearance in 2021. In a shocking move, the Suns decided to part ways with Coach Williams after losing to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals this year. After turning around a previously abysmal Suns team to perennial championship contenders, I’m sure Pistons fans are ecstatic about this move.
While having an outstanding head coach like Monty Williams will be beneficial for the growth of this young Pistons team, it certainly wasn’t a cheap hire. In the most lucrative head coaching deal in NBA history, Detroit inked a six-year $72 million contract with the hopes of altering the franchise’s trajectory. Although the Pistons got completely screwed in the NBA Draft Lottery – receiving the fifth overall pick with realistic hopes for number one – their roster is still filled with young talents like Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Hopefully, Detroit will remain active throughout free agency this summer and add some pieces so they can compete for the playoffs next season. Obviously, the Pistons can’t control injuries (which they’ve had quite a lot of in the past couple of seasons) but if they can stay healthy, I genuinely think this would be an exciting team to watch.
With Nick Nurse and Monty Williams finding new homes in Philadelphia and Detroit respectively, I’ll be interested to see how the rest of this offseason plays out in terms of coaching hires. The Suns will likely have their new head coach announced within the next week or so, and who knows if Joe Mazzulla will stay in Boston or not. Let’s just hope no team is dumb enough to hire Steve Nash again.
