Pistons open to firing Monty; Gores willing to eat contract

[thesack12]

I know we like to crap on Monty right now, but that is revisionist history. Monty took over a rebuilding Phoenix team that had be awful for 3 season and had just had a 19-63 season. His first year, we was 5 games under 500 and the team looked great in the covid bubble play. Then they got chris paul and vaulted up to 51-21. They had already gone from a 23% win team to 46% win percentage before Chris Paul walked in the door. Obviously, this is a players league, so you need to have some all-star player if you are going to be any sort of a contender, but Monty took phoenix from god awful to respectable.

Of course none of that should really matter to pistons fans. He was god awful for us last year. He somehow managed to make a bad roster even worse on the court.

In New Orleans Monty's 1st year coincided with CP3's last year there. That year the Hornets won 46 games. The next season the Hornets won 21 games. So a 25 game decrease without Paul.

Before Monty came to town, Phoenix hired that Igor guy who never had any business sitting in the lead chair on an NBA sideline. He was a terrible coach and reportedly couldn't connect with their young players. He was predictably a one year and done guy. So just getting passable coaching would have been an improvement.

Before their 51 win year Phoenix added CP3 to a young, very talented, well fitting core.

Booker's 6th year
Bridges' 3rd year
Ayton's 3rd year
Cam Johnson's 2nd year

So was Phoenix's rise more of a product of Monty's influence or a young talented core being ready to break out? And then adding an all time best floor general/leader to them?

[thesack12]

I've said this before, but it's practically unimaginable that whoever comes in doesn't at least try to make it work with Monty 1st. Mid-season would be the earliest I could picture anything happening.

I don't give 2 **** what some article says; Gores is not going to simply give $60 mil away. He *may* be willing to go there eventually, but it's going to be like pulling teeth. Any reports to the contrary are just mouthpieces for the organization.

The $60M is already given away. That’s gone. No coming back. The only thing it will cost Gores is the cost of the next coach, who I assume won’t be some massively overpaid “veteran” coach that doesn’t want to come here like Monty.

But I do agree that bringing in a new POBO was likely always going to mean that Monty will get a second chance, even if (I think) he was more egregiously terrible than anyone in the entire franchise last year.

Yup, its a classic case of sunk cost fallacy.

That money is already spent. You would think that as good as a business man as Gores is outside of the NBA, you would think he would realize this. For whatever reason, he has a blind spot to this when it comes to his basketball business.

[NYPiston]

I've said this before, but it's practically unimaginable that whoever comes in doesn't at least try to make it work with Monty 1st. Mid-season would be the earliest I could picture anything happening.

I don't give 2 **** what some article says; Gores is not going to simply give $60 mil away. He *may* be willing to go there eventually, but it's going to be like pulling teeth. Any reports to the contrary are just mouthpieces for the organization.

Why is that "unimaginable"? Why do they have to make it work with Monty? Langdon should be free to bring in his own guy, not be forced to make it work with the previous coach. If Langdon truly believes that Monty is the guy then so be it but there should be no obligation to see it through with Monty for....reasons.

Chances are that Langdon already has a guy in mind if he is indeed looking to make a change so I would expect a decision soon either way.

[Crymson]

I've said this before, but it's practically unimaginable that whoever comes in doesn't at least try to make it work with Monty 1st. Mid-season would be the earliest I could picture anything happening.

I don't give 2 **** what some article says; Gores is not going to simply give $60 mil away. He *may* be willing to go there eventually, but it's going to be like pulling teeth. Any reports to the contrary are just mouthpieces for the organization.

Something tells me that having handed Monty the then-largest coaching contract in NBA history to lead this team out of the rebuild only to watch him monstrously fail at his duties through at best outrageous negligence and at worst outright sabotage on the way to a 28-game losing streak, the worst season in franchise history, and absolute humiliation for the organization did not exactly predispose Mr. Gores toward him. Monty's performance as coach was not simply bad, it was an absolute disaster the likes of which is rarely seen in professional sports and is not within the realm of possibility for anybody who genuinely has any interest in doing his job even adequately well.

I would be very unsurprised to find out that Gores strongly dislikes the guy already. Moreover, Tom wants to win and has always been willing to spend. Why in the world would he want to keep the most spectacular coaching failure in recent NBA history in position?

So was Phoenix's rise more of a product of Monty's influence or a young talented core being ready to break out? And then adding an all time best floor general/leader to them?

Detroit Monty bore absolutely no resemblance to Nola/Phoenix Monty. The latter was a solidly competent regular season coach, if limited in the postseason. The former was a top-to-bottom disaster for reasons that had nothing to do with the roster.

It's aggravating to witness people discuss his coaching with the Pistons as if there was anything normal about the situation at all. There was not. This was a situation in which it was genuinely reasonable to wonder if a coach was deliberately failing at his job, one in which better outcomes may very well have been had by allowing the fandom to make coaching decisions by fan vote. A great deal of how Monty comported himself as coach was in total defiance of common sense and basic logic.

[Kilo]

This is all smoke to make it seem like Langdon chooses to keep him.

[Snakebites]

Yeah…just really hoping folks are dead wrong here.

[MrBigShot]

What high quality coach would take this job?

[GreekAlex]

I’m surprised that Gores inner circle hasn’t convinced him to be pioneers with an AI Red Auerbach hologram.

[Sort]

I've said this before, but it's practically unimaginable that whoever comes in doesn't at least try to make it work with Monty 1st. Mid-season would be the earliest I could picture anything happening.

I don't give 2 **** what some article says; Gores is not going to simply give $60 mil away. He *may* be willing to go there eventually, but it's going to be like pulling teeth. Any reports to the contrary are just mouthpieces for the organization.

Something tells me that having handed Monty the then-largest coaching contract in NBA history to lead this team out of the rebuild only to watch him monstrously fail at his duties through at best outrageous negligence and at worst outright sabotage on the way to a 28-game losing streak, the worst season in franchise history, and absolute humiliation for the organization did not exactly predispose Mr. Gores toward him. Monty's performance as coach was not simply bad, it was an absolute disaster the likes of which is rarely seen in professional sports and is not within the realm of possibility for anybody who genuinely has any interest in doing his job even adequately well.

I would be very unsurprised to find out that Gores strongly dislikes the guy already. Moreover, Tom wants to win and has always been willing to spend. Why in the world would he want to keep the most spectacular coaching failure in recent NBA history in position?

So was Phoenix's rise more of a product of Monty's influence or a young talented core being ready to break out? And then adding an all time best floor general/leader to them?

Detroit Monty bore absolutely no resemblance to Nola/Phoenix Monty. The latter was a solidly competent regular season coach, if limited in the postseason. The former was a top-to-bottom disaster for reasons that had nothing to do with the roster.

It's aggravating to witness people discuss his coaching with the Pistons as if there was anything normal about the situation at all. There was not. This was a situation in which it was genuinely reasonable to wonder if a coach was deliberately failing at his job, one in which better outcomes may very well have been had by allowing the fandom to make coaching decisions by fan vote. A great deal of how Monty comported himself as coach was in total defiance of common sense and basic logic.

It's hard not to be sarcastic here, but it's also the truth. Monty Williams took a long look into the future and decided to focus on...Killian Hayes.

This just looked like a cozy retirement gig. It's Langdon's job now to determine if that was a one-year off ramp or is now Monty's highway of life.

[Uncle Mxy]

What does a billionaire season a $60 million contract with? Salt and pepper? Gold flakes? Carolina Reapers?

Watching him eat the contract live will be must-see TV, of a type Pistons fans haven't had in years. Make it happen!

[Invictus88]

I've said this before, but it's practically unimaginable that whoever comes in doesn't at least try to make it work with Monty 1st. Mid-season would be the earliest I could picture anything happening.

I don't give 2 **** what some article says; Gores is not going to simply give $60 mil away. He *may* be willing to go there eventually, but it's going to be like pulling teeth. Any reports to the contrary are just mouthpieces for the organization.

Something tells me that having handed Monty the then-largest coaching contract in NBA history to lead this team out of the rebuild only to watch him monstrously fail at his duties through at best outrageous negligence and at worst outright sabotage on the way to a 28-game losing streak, the worst season in franchise history, and absolute humiliation for the organization did not exactly predispose Mr. Gores toward him. Monty's performance as coach was not simply bad, it was an absolute disaster the likes of which is rarely seen in professional sports and is not within the realm of possibility for anybody who genuinely has any interest in doing his job even adequately well.

I would be very unsurprised to find out that Gores strongly dislikes the guy already. Moreover, Tom wants to win and has always been willing to spend. Why in the world would he want to keep the most spectacular coaching failure in recent NBA history in position?

So was Phoenix's rise more of a product of Monty's influence or a young talented core being ready to break out? And then adding an all time best floor general/leader to them?

Detroit Monty bore absolutely no resemblance to Nola/Phoenix Monty. The latter was a solidly competent regular season coach, if limited in the postseason. The former was a top-to-bottom disaster for reasons that had nothing to do with the roster.

It's aggravating to witness people discuss his coaching with the Pistons as if there was anything normal about the situation at all. There was not. This was a situation in which it was genuinely reasonable to wonder if a coach was deliberately failing at his job, one in which better outcomes may very well have been had by allowing the fandom to make coaching decisions by fan vote. A great deal of how Monty comported himself as coach was in total defiance of common sense and basic logic.

It's hard not to be sarcastic here, but it's also the truth. Monty Williams took a long look into the future and decided to focus on...Killian Hayes.

This just looked like a cozy retirement gig. It's Langdon's job now to determine if that was a one-year off ramp or is now Monty's highway of life.

The idea of throwing away 60 million dollars after 1 year seems ridiculous without any other context.

But this 1 year included the longest losing streak in NBA history, the worst record in franchise history, numerous baffling coaching decisions, and inconsistent / contradictory statements about the nature of the issues and how they were going to fix them. There was also little if any tangible player development on a roster comprised almost entirely of young prospects.

Taking that into account it suddenly doesn't seem so unreasonable after all.

[Canadafan]

Something tells me that having handed Monty the then-largest coaching contract in NBA history to lead this team out of the rebuild only to watch him monstrously fail at his duties through at best outrageous negligence and at worst outright sabotage on the way to a 28-game losing streak, the worst season in franchise history, and absolute humiliation for the organization did not exactly predispose Mr. Gores toward him. Monty's performance as coach was not simply bad, it was an absolute disaster the likes of which is rarely seen in professional sports and is not within the realm of possibility for anybody who genuinely has any interest in doing his job even adequately well.

I would be very unsurprised to find out that Gores strongly dislikes the guy already. Moreover, Tom wants to win and has always been willing to spend. Why in the world would he want to keep the most spectacular coaching failure in recent NBA history in position?



Detroit Monty bore absolutely no resemblance to Nola/Phoenix Monty. The latter was a solidly competent regular season coach, if limited in the postseason. The former was a top-to-bottom disaster for reasons that had nothing to do with the roster.

It's aggravating to witness people discuss his coaching with the Pistons as if there was anything normal about the situation at all. There was not. This was a situation in which it was genuinely reasonable to wonder if a coach was deliberately failing at his job, one in which better outcomes may very well have been had by allowing the fandom to make coaching decisions by fan vote. A great deal of how Monty comported himself as coach was in total defiance of common sense and basic logic.

It's hard not to be sarcastic here, but it's also the truth. Monty Williams took a long look into the future and decided to focus on...Killian Hayes.

This just looked like a cozy retirement gig. It's Langdon's job now to determine if that was a one-year off ramp or is now Monty's highway of life.

The idea of throwing away 60 million dollars after 1 year seems ridiculous without any other context.

But this 1 year included the longest losing streak in NBA history, the worst record in franchise history, numerous baffling coaching decisions, and inconsistent / contradictory statements about the nature of the issues and how they were going to fix them. There was also little if any tangible player development on a roster comprised almost entirely of young prospects.

Taking that into account it suddenly doesn't seem so unreasonable after all.

It sure does seem insane to pay Monty to stay away. He most definitely should be paying us the way he messed last season up.
If he's such a god fearing man, he should let Gores donate the rest of his money to a good charity. Give back to the community as Tom says.
The amount this franchise has appreciated since Gores took over, it's the least he could do to turn the page properly for all us long suffering fans. I say let weaver stay on as GM with little to no say about anything. Be Langdon’s assistant. Monty needs to get out though

[zeebneeb]

What high quality coach would take this job?

I am a big fan of Atkinson, so I would hope he would be on the radar.

I have zero problem keeping Weaver, as he isn't going to be making decisions, and can be a fall guy for tragic if the season starts slow again.

Monty, absolutely has to go. Everyone around the league was openly questioning his moves and lineups. It was brutal. He, again as a reminder, was dead last to challenging calls last year, a clear sign his heart wasn't in it, and offered zero cover for his players. He also had the lowest conversion rate as well if memory serves.(27% Some coaches had as high of a 70% success rate)

No one is going to have a bigger impact on the team, then the coach.(besides the players. ) Monty cannot be allowed the continued destruction.

I'm pretty much open to whomever though. Pistons have had two horrendous coaches in a row, so third times the charm.

I would also like to note;

The Pistons have done everything imaginable, in trying to destroy Cades early career. Not building around his obvious strengths, and having two, soon to be three different coaches in 4 years.(3 really).

I am really hoping that changes.

[7r5ur]

What high quality coach would take this job?

Someone that hasn't had a head coaching gig before. That's going to be the person that is all-in.

[Canadafan]

What high quality coach would take this job?

Someone that hasn't had a head coaching gig before. That's going to be the person that is all-in.

Maybe Langdon has some pull with JJ the next Pat Riley

[Laimbeer]

You don't cut someone loose unless you have their successor lined up.

Coaches don't get fired until teams have the next coach lined up?

[Uncle Mxy]

You don't cut someone loose unless you have their successor lined up.

Coaches don't get fired until teams have the next coach lined up?

Sometimes you have to fire someone ASAP because of an HR fiasco. Most of the time, it's an idiotic move. Who you have lined up may not be who you ultimately hire, but you don't just fire someone without a plan. Heck, you think succession plans while they're still around, especially if they're floundering. This isn't NBA-specific.

[MotownMadness]

When is the Langdon hire official? Gotta think Weaver is fired soon

[Canadafan]

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Hire Rondo immediately. He's one guy that could change everything for us