Pistons Dismiss Monty Williams As Head Coach

[RealGM Wiretap]

The Detroit Pistons have dismissed Monty Williams as their head coach. Williams spent one year with Detroit, going 14-68, including an NBA record 28-game losing streak.

Williams is owed more than $65 million over the next five years. The Pistons gave Williams the then largest contract for a head coach in NBA history when they hired him last offseason.

New President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon was given full autonomy over keeping Williams when he was hired to lead the Pistons front office. Langdon was said to be undergoing a thorough evaluation of both the coaching staff and the roster before making any decisions.

Detroit will now have a third coach in as many seasons, after Dwane Casey was re-assigned following the 2022-23 season and Williams was let go after one year. The Pistons also have decisions to make with the roster, including extension discussions with Cade Cunningham and how to use a projected $64 million in cap space this offseason.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

[pushfloater]

LOL… I am very curious to know how this buyout will work moving forward

[Invictus88]

LOL… I am very curious to know how this buyout will work moving forward

Umm... it wasn’t a buyout? He was fired and the money is guaranteed?

[elmdawgg69]

How dumb is this owner? He should’ve never fired SVG. He showed more results at half the price. And I don’t even like SVG.

[moocow007]

In an example of just a really really poorly run organization, the guy that hired Williams and gave him that insane 6 year $78 million head coaching contract was himself fired a few weeks ago (referring to Troy Weaver). Williams still had $65 million left on his contract when he was fired.

This goes to show that not every assistant to a highly successful front office executive can himself become a successful front office executive. Troy Weaver came from the Sam Presti front office tree. Presti is one of the greatest front office execs in NBA history and the Pistons brain trust probably thought that putting Presti's former assistant would lead them to success.

[kenwood3333]

Monty Willliam is the Bradley Beal of coaches.

[pushfloater]

LOL… I am very curious to know how this buyout will work moving forward

Wrong word, so they’re going to give him all the money that he is due upfront?

[kellmellus50]

money is guaranteed pocket change for gores

[Elnegron]

Poverty franchise. Maxing out a coach to let him go a year later lol

[Bad Bart]

How dumb is this owner? He should’ve never fired SVG. He showed more results at half the price. And I don’t even like SVG.

SVG stinks and a big reason they're in the position they're currently in. The trade for Blake Griffin was one of the dumbest moves in NBA history.

[Rek]

LOL… I am very curious to know how this buyout will work moving forward

Wrong word, so they’re going to give him all the money that he is due upfront?

The team is only obligated to pay Monty on the same basis as if he's still the head coach according to the terms that were originally outlined - meaning only his annual salary each year until fully paid.

They're not forced to pay him everything at once.

This actually works in Monty's favor regarding taxes assuming he lives long enough to collect everything.

[FreeBoosie]

Monty made more over the past year of "work" than the poor loser who just won the finals mvp and had to work his arse off hahaha

[BasketballJosh]

Based off Detroit's season last year, he got paid $65 to take a year off.

[YourGM99]

When a new team hires him the pistons will be off the hook.

[Pickled Prunes]

Based off Detroit's season last year, he got paid $65 to take a year off.

The players had nothing to do with it. The roster had nothing to do with it... it was all the coaches fault.

[Pickled Prunes]

When a new team hires him the pistons will be off the hook.

He was owed $21m over 3 yrs from PHX which is why DET had to give him this massive deal. He's now owed $65m over 5 yrs.... How big would that next deal need to be to get him off the beach?

I think he might be done. That season, coaching that jacked up roster for a tire-fire of an organization... that would break any man!

[uconn83]

Monty won't even take up an assistant job in the NBA, pretty much retired now.

[hyberx]

When a new team hires him the pistons will be off the hook.

yeah, bruh is so going to work again to give up $65mil doing nothing.

[TheCage4]

Hell of a retirement package. See you in a few years Monty.

[puja21]

In an example of just a really really poorly run organization, the guy that hired Williams and gave him that insane 6 year $78 million head coaching contract was himself fired a few weeks ago (referring to Troy Weaver). Williams still had $65 million left on his contract when he was fired.

This goes to show that not every assistant to a highly successful front office executive can himself become a successful front office executive. Troy Weaver came from the Sam Presti front office tree. Presti is one of the greatest front office execs in NBA history and the Pistons brain trust probably thought that putting Presti's former assistant would lead them to success.

Gores deserves a lot of blame here by most accounts.

If you go back and read the beat snips leading up to Monty's contract, there are 2 consistent themes:

1. Williams was not even interested in coaching at all (not right away), let alone the Pistons job. He repeatedly said he wanted to take a year off and there were reports Detroit kept offering him more and more money until Monty couldn't say no.

2. Weaver was really far along toward hiring (UConn and briefly Nets Coach) Kevin Ollie -- the timing doesn't lineup, but reporters have posed that Ollie actually resigned from Overtime Elite "for" the Pistons' opening. Regardless, Gores refused to sign off on that and was instead enamored with Williams (similar to Suns FO)

Not saying Ollie would've been better but I got the impression that both he and Charles Lee were *not* Gores' desired hires when those rumors were swirling.

Oddly enough, Weaver also considered Jarron Collins (a Willie Green assistant)... Willie Green was Monty's top assistant in Phoenix years 1 and 2), so his hire to NOR at least implies Griff thinks Green was a big part of **Monty's** success in Phoenix. Kind of funny that both Pistons candidates (Monty and Collins) may actually have been propped up by Green.