After nearly two months of searching, the Detroit Pistons made a home run swing to address their vacant head coach position.
Former Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams is expected to sign a contract with the Pistons worth north of $10 million annually within the next few days, a league source told the Free Press Wednesday night. The incentive-laden deal will make Williams, the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year, one of the NBA’s highest paid.
The Pistons initially made contact with Williams two weeks ago after the NBA draft lottery, but sources say he turned the team down and intended to take a year off. But the Pistons remained interested, and have now returned to the table. It remains to be seen if Williams is prepared to change his mind, but he’s considering Detroit’s offer.
Williams is the Pistons’ third straight coach with extensive experience as an NBA head coach. Dwane Casey ended his coaching tenure after five years at the end of the 2022-23 regular season. Casey previously was the coach of the Toronto Raptors. Prior to Casey, the Pistons handed the franchise over to Stan Van Gundy (formerly with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic) when they named him head coach and president of basketball operations.
The Suns, who extended Williams contract just last summer, made a big splash around the trade deadline this year when they sent several first-round picks and a package of players to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant, just hours after new owner and Michigan native Mat Ishbia took over.
When the Suns fell short of those expectations and were blown out, 125-100, in Game 6 of the second round of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, the Suns ultimately decided to move on from Williams.
The Pistons finished with an NBA-worst record of 17-65 this season. They own the No. 5 overall pick in June’s draft.