Shoutout to Detroit!
The Detroit Pistons have been looking for a new head coach for a couple of months now, but they have reportedly found their man. The Pistons and Monty Williams have agreed on a six-year, $72 million deal for the latter to fill Detroit’s vacant position after Dwane Casey resigned last month, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Breaking: Monty Williams and the Detroit Pistons have agreed in principle on a six-year, $72 million deal for Williams to become the franchise’s new head coach, sources tell me and @JLEdwardsIII. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 1, 2023
Another report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN states that Williams’ deal is actually for $78.5 million over six years, and if that’s the case, it would have Williams with the largest coaching contract in NBA history.
Monty Williams has agreed to a six-year, $78.5 million contract with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell ESPN. It’s the largest coaching deal in NBA history.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 1, 2023
Solid move by the Detroit Pistons.
If you don’t remember, Monty Williams led the Phoenix Suns to the 2021 Western Conference championship and a berth in the NBA Finals, so I like Detroit’s thinking here as far as the hire is concerned. That said, the hiring will only go so far with limited stardom. The Pistons have a lot of work to do to ensure Monty is effective.
Now, Detroit does have some resources – it’s probably why Monty felt comfortable taking the job. They’re riddled with a talented roster, but they’re young and still in development, so it’ll be a work in progress. On top of that, Detroit also has the No. 5 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
But my problem is that the Pistons have no superstar, no leader — and we all know how the NBA is. You need a superstar to win. The good news is that Detroit has a load of cap space at their disposal, but on the flip side, what top free agent will want to suit up for the Pistons? (RELATED: Projected No. 1 NBA Draft Pick Victor Wembanyama Puts Up Insane Dunk During Mets 92 Warm Ups That Had Fans Going Crazy)
And that’s why they have a lot of work to do. Convincing somebody like Kyrie Irving or James Harden to go to Detroit just seems impossible to me.
But props to the D for having resources and trying to make things pop — typical blue-collar stuff from a champion city.