After giving out a historic six-year, $78 million deal to Monty Williams, the Detroit Pistons have dismissed Williams after just one season running the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. His departure means he will earn $65 million over five years to not coach the team, as the Pistons will now search for a new coach.
ESPN Sources: After one season, the Detroit Pistons have dismissed coach Monty Williams — who leaves with five years and $65M-plus left on his deal. New President Trajan Langdon will move to make his own coaching hire now. pic.twitter.com/QHKivQS5o2
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2024
Wojnarowski reported the departure on X, stating, "ESPN Sources: After one season, the Detroit Pistons have dismissed coach Monty Williams — who leaves with five years and $65M-plus left on his deal. New President Trajan Langdon will move to make his own coaching hire now."
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"New Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon had been meeting regularly with Williams about the franchise's future since his hiring a month ago, but the decision to dismiss Williams was directed from the ownership level with Tom Gores, sources told ESPN," Wojnarowski also indicated.
Langdon reportedly delivered the news to Williams on Wednesday morning, and Gores and vice chairman Arn Tellem were apparently the advocates for letting Williams go.
Williams was thrust right into the middle of the team's rebuild, but the Pistons were just not ready to turn things around. The team finished by tying a league record of 28 losses in a row and finished with a paltry 14-68 record, which was the worst in the NBA this year.
Through the last five seasons, the Pistons hold a 94-290 (.245 winning percentage) record, which is also the worst in the NBA in that span. They are also the third-youngest team in the league.
Williams was coming off a successful run with the Phoenix Suns when the Pistons came calling. During his coaching run with the Suns between the 2019 and 2023 seasons, Williams led the team to a 194-115 (.645 winning percentage) record. He made an NBA Finals appearance in 2021 and West Conference Finals Semis appearances the following two seasons, while earning a Coach of the Year award in the 2022 season.
The Suns still fired Williams in the summer of 2023, after he could not deliver on leading the team to an NBA Finals win even with the advent of All-Star forward Kevin Durant that year. After Williams' departure, he had plans to take a year off to care for his wife who had been given a cancer diagnosis, but Gores' offer lured him back to the game. Now, he has been let go once again.
The Pistons will now search for a new head coach, right when teams are gearing up for the NBA Draft. A possible candidate for the team is James Borrego, who has been making his rounds by interviewing with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, who are also set to finalize their own coaching searches.
Correction 6/19/24, 12:35 p.m. ET: This article was altered to correct John Borrego to James Borrego.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Located in Los Angeles County, James Brizuela has been immersed in Southern California sports for over 30 years. He holds ... Read more
