Both the Detroit Pistons and Monty Williams entered the offseason looking for a change. The Pistons needed a new head coach after Dwane Casey transitioned to a front-office role. Meanwhile, Williams found himself out of the job after being ousted by the Phoenix Suns leadership. Owner Mat Ishiba, who was well-known for not gelling with Williams, fired the coach after the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs.
The Pistons find themselves in an interesting position in this offseason. Years of mediocracy, and downright bad play, have the franchise firmly in a rebuilding period. However, a lot of luck in the NBA Draft lottery has set the team up with a strong young core anchored by Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duran. Furthermore, the Pistons hold the fifth overall pick in this year's draft. Despite reports that Williams may take a year away from the league this season, that no longer appears to be the case.
Sources Report Record Deal For Williams
Sources who spoke with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski have claimed that Williams will become the next coach of the Detroit Pistons. Furthermore, his deal with the team is for six years and $78.5 million. That makes it the largest coaching deal in the history of the NBA. Additionally, further reporting by The Athletic revealed that a host of incentives could increase Williams' payout to $100 million. Furthermore, it makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in all of American sports. Per Sportico, the only coaches paid more than Williams are Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, and Sean McVay.
The Pistons become the sixth NBA organization Williams has worked for since he began coaching in 2005. Williams earned his first head coaching role in New Orleans in 2010. While he is yet to win an NBA ring, he has previously coached Team USA to a gold medal at both the FIBA World Cup and the Olympics. He now takes over a Pistons team looking to turn the corner in regard to their rebuild. However, the Pistons last recorded a winning record in 2016. Their best result since then was a .500 season in 2019. What do you think about the hire? Let us know in the comments. Follow all the latest sports news here at HotNewHipHop.
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