The Pistons parted ways with Monty Williams on Wednesday morning following the franchise’s worst-ever season after signing him to a six-year, $78.5MM deal just one year ago.
The decision to move on from Williams came soon after hiring Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations. According to reports, owner Tom Gores indicated Williams’ remaining money wouldn’t be an issue if Langdon ultimately decided to let him go, and the decision to move on from Williams came within the last 24 hours.
Pelicans assistant James Borrego, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, former Pistons assistant Jerome Allen, Heat assistant Chris Quinn and former Nets assistant Will Weaver are among the candidates for the Pistons’ head coaching vacancy, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes. In a tweet, Edwards added that he believes Borrego, Sweeney and Bryant are the three primary names to watch for the position.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter link), Shams Charania suggested Borrego remains the favorite for the Cavaliers‘ vacant head coaching position. Borrego has also drawn interest from the Lakers, though it’s worth noting that the Pistons hired Langdon from New Orleans, where Borrego coached last season.
Sweeney served as an assistant on Dwane Casey‘s staff for three years in Detroit and helped develop Giannis Antetokounmpo while with Milwaukee. Helping the Mavericks to an NBA Finals appearance aids Sweeney’s case. Meanwhile, Bryant has been an assistant under Tom Thibodeau in New York since 2020 following a stint with the Jazz.
We have more from the Pistons’ decision to move on from Williams:
- According to Edwards (Twitter link), the firing of Williams has no impact the team’s decision to bring in Fred Vinson as an assistant for next year’s staff. Vinson will be on the Pistons next season.
- In order to fight to keep his job, Williams essentially went through an interview process with Langdon, Edwards writes in a separate story. The team was searching for complete synergy from its front office to its coaching staff, and wanted to know for certain if Williams was committed to coaching a rebuilding team. Ultimately, Langdon was given free rein, via Gores, to make whatever decision he saw fit, and the pair opted to clean house in tandem.
- Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press echoes Edwards’ reporting in that Langdon and Gores were on the same page in regard to firing Williams (Twitter link).
- Williams and Weaver aren’t solely to blame for Detroit’s woeful season, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports writes. There were “four factions” in the Pistons organization, with chairman Arn Tellem also serving as a prominent voice, according to Goodwill, who says that objective No. 1 this offseason should be getting everyone on the same page.
- J.J. Redick could be a name to watch, Goodwill writes, but it’s unclear how much traction Detroit could gain with him since he’s widely viewed as the favorite for the Lakers’ position. Redick and Langdon have a Duke connection and crossed over briefly in New Orleans, though Redick’s time with the Pelicans didn’t end well. Tellem is also reportedly a fan of Redick’s.
Hiring Williams was dumb from start. Now u have a crappy roster and coach getting 50+ mil to not coach. What’s worst is bonehead Silver wants expansion(which makes zero sense)
Stop the steroid abuse …….
I’m down with expansion. Vegas and Seattle absolutely should have teams.
Expansion is happening asap. Enough talent for it and no way it doesn’t happen given how much existing owners will make from it.
When I watch nba basketball and college hoops I see lots of things and enough talent isn’t one of them.
He may take a year off but Williams will picked up by someone. The Pistons won’t be on the hook for the full $50 million
If I were Williams, I’d demand a good team from GM.
I’d want a good team like Pacers or Cavs.
a GM is 10 times more important than a coach.
Expansion will be happen…
This new cap is designed for it… Spreading the talent around the league more… There is no lack of talent…
Bad owners that make bad decisions exist because of how the rest of society works… Not because of the NBA…
More teams means more chances at having better owners and more teams that are run well…
I’d prefer a relegation system which would really put pressure on owners to be at least mediocre…
Great move, sometimes admitting fault is hard and I give the owner credit here, as much as I haven’t liked Gores, he seems to be learning as he goes. Luckily it is his money,
We need to emphasize this is a young roster and sounds like we are finally. This roster is full of undeveloped talent. We need to learn to shoot (Vinson will help)
We could be in a decent position, with a young core. We just need some real coaching and veteran leadership. Bring in winners and leaders for the roster and a hungry young coach.
Pistons should be on the phone with Atkinson. He’s a proven guy with a young team. Add a few vets. Like Rockets did. And Pistons will start to compete. I like their young talent.
Too many chiefs, not enough Indians. Just like when Dolan had Isiah in New York, it’s time for Tellem to stick to the business development side or hit the bricks. You can’t say Langdon has Total control if Tellem is in the owners ear.
Monty gets hired by the LAKERS, gets fired by next offseason.
That would be legendary.
Good to be Monty walking away with that cash
Specially when you are a below average HC that did a really bad job & deserved to be fired, right?
Is someone actually going to hire Monty again? This is not a good look for him IMO. From an outsiders perspective he didn’t give this job a serious chance. He knew what he was getting into. This ruins him.
5 yr amazon game analyst.
Of course he knew what he was getting into matter of fact any one would but he see the 78 million said idc who I’m coaching lol
Sure the Pistons has bad results but was it enough of his fault to justify firing him?
Well the Langdon era for the Pistons got off to a good start…
Costs their owner a bit, but it’s not going to dent the teams profit margins ecen when they pay tax bills in a few years…
Remember, everyone: this Detroit Pistons franchise has been cursed for a long time because of “The Malice At the Palace”. Williams should thank his lucky stars he doesn’t have to be there the entire 6 years.
Don’t know about cursed. The Pistons went on to win the championship that very year. That said, I agree, he is fortunate to be out of Motown. And I am a diehard Pistons fan!