The Detroit Pistons are still in the early stages of finding their next head coach. But two weeks into the process, strong candidates have emerged.
Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee, New Orleans Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins and former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie have stood out and are expected to make the team’s second round of interviews, league sources confirmed to the Free Press. The team held Zoom interviews last week, and will meet with more candidates this week. Lee, Collins and Ollie will likely meet with the team again for an in-person interview round.
The Pistons are angling toward hiring a younger, more unproven coach compared to their previous two — Dwane Casey, who was 61 at the time of his hire, and then 54-year-old Stan Van Gundy. Both had held multiple NBA head coaching jobs prior. Lee, Collins and Ollie would all be first-time head coaches in the NBA. Ollie is the oldest of the bunch at 50, while Collins and Lee are 44 and 38, respectively.
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Let’s break down the backgrounds of each known candidate. We took a look at Lee on Wednesday. Next up: Jarron Collins.
He and his twin brother were longtime NBA players
Collins and his identical twin brother, Jason, were both drafted in 2001 after standout careers at Stanford. Jason was drafted 18th by the Houston Rockets before being traded to the New Jersey Nets, and Jarron went 52nd to the Utah Jazz. They both enjoyed long playing careers — Jason played 13 seasons for six franchises, and Jarron played 10 seasons for four teams.
In 2013, Jason became the first active male athlete in from one of the United States’ four major professional leagues to come out as gay. He played his first game after coming out in February 2014, signing a 10-day contract with the Nets.
“Believe it or not, my family has had bigger shocks,” Jason wrote in his first-person Sports Illustrated cover story. “Strange as it seems today, my parents expected only one child in 1978. Me. When I came out (for the first time) the doctors congratulated my mother on her healthy, 7-pound, 1-ounce baby boy.
” ‘Wait!’ said a nurse. ‘Here comes another one!’ The other one, who arrived eight minutes later and three ounces heavier, was Jarron. He’s followed me ever since, to Stanford and to the NBA, and as the ever-so-slightly older brother I’ve looked out for him.
“I didn’t come out to my brother until last summer,” Jason later continued. “His reaction to my breakfast revelation was radically different from Aunt Teri’s. He was downright astounded. He never suspected. So much for twin telepathy. But by dinner that night, he was full of brotherly love. For the first time in our lives, he wanted to step in and protect me.”
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He won three championships as a coach with the Warriors
After retiring as a player in 2011, Jarron Collins’ next job was as a scout for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013. A year later, Steve Kerr hired him as a player development coach with the Golden State Warriors, who went on to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals that season.
Collins was promoted to an assistant coach in 2015 and was present for Golden State’s following two championships in 2017 and 2018. He left the Warriors in 2021, after two seasons coordinating their defense, to prioritize becoming a head coach or lead assistant elsewhere.
“This is about myself and my own personal growth,” Collins told ESPN at the time. “I had a conversation with (head coach) Steve (Kerr) and the Warriors. I’ve been there seven years and coached Hall of Fame players. We’ve won championships. I learned so much. For me, this is about taking the next journey and next step in my career.
“Obviously, Steve Kerr is the head coach and Mike Brown is the lead assistant. It’s time for me to step out and see whatever opportunities are out there for me.”
Collins was an integral part of Golden State’s success, but he was transparent about his desire to get to the next level. He has interviewed for multiple head coaching jobs over the last five years, including with the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls. Pelicans head coach (and Detroit native and former Detroit Mercy standout) Willie Green, himself a former assistant under Kerr, hired Collins as an assistant in 2021.
“I’m going to really miss Jarron, both personally and professionally,” Kerr told ESPN. “He’s an excellent coach and a wonderful human being. It’s going to be different without him around, but he deserves the chance to continue his growth with the goal of ultimately becoming a head coach in the NBA. Jarron has all the skills necessary. He’s a great teacher and communicator, he’s smart and funny, and he knows the game.”
A defensive mind
In December 2019, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled Collins as he brought life to Golden State’s languishing defense. The Warriors, who finished with 15 wins that season, were without three of their most proven defenders — Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Klay Thompson — and Draymond Green and Kevon Looney had both missed significant time.
They were also without Stephen Curry, who suffered a hand injury after five games and missed the rest of the season. Collins leaned on the lessons learned during his 10-year playing career, where he wasn’t the most skilled player on the floor but was an impactful defender.
“For a player like myself, I had no choice: I had to think the game out there,” Collins said. “I didn’t have the level of athleticism that other guys had, but I could execute a game plan and do what my coaches asked me to do.”
The Warriors were ascending up the defensive rankings and upset the Houston Rockets on Christmas, 116-104, largely thanks to an aggressive defensive scheme that kept James Harden off of the free throw line by double-teaming him at the top of the key.
Their starting five? Green, D’Angelo Russell, Damion Lee, Glenn Robinson III and Willie Cauley-Stein. Green applauded Collins’ “(expletive) phenomenal game plan” afterward.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.