Monty Williams’ tenure with the Phoenix Suns was like a movie in which he was the award-winning leading role, and his new role as the Detroit Pistons coach is the sequel. Like most Part 2s, the narrative slightly changes, they continue some elements and have several new characters that might have similar traits and scenarios that were in the original film.
Williams was asked during his introductory news conference as Detroit’s new coach on Tuesday about his plan to help rebuild Detroit, which has three world titles. Williams began the news conference by discussing the importance of an assistant coaching staff. His former Phoenix assistants Jarrett Jack and Mark Bryant were at the news conference, and they’re speculated to join his staff in Detroit.
Most importantly, Williams was questioned about the similarities between players he coached in Phoenix and those on Detroit’s roster. Williams was reluctant to give specifics comparisons.
“Similarities, yeah, I can name names but I think that boxes guys in,” Williams said. “When I look at the talent we have, I’m careful not to compare and placing names on guys because I don’t want them thinking they have to be this particular guy. I want them to be the best version of themselves in a unique way. When I got to Phoenix, there were some things that were similar for sure, but I’m not trying to redo that.”
When Williams was hired by Phoenix in May 2019, the team had missed nine straight postseasons, finished that year tied for the league’s second-worst 19 victories, and had the league’s youngest team with the prior draft year’s No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton. Phoenix barely missed the playoffs in the Orlando bubble during its first season under him, reached the finals the following year, achieved the franchise-record 64 regular season wins in 2022, and made the Valley into an attractive trade destination for two of the NBA’s 75 greatest ever Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.
Detroit has the league’s second-youngest team that finished this year on a league-worst 17 wins, missed the past four postseasons, has the top draft pick in 2021 in Cade Cunningham, and Williams is being paid an all-time high for coaches to make it happen again in Motown.
Cunningham explained how elated he is about Williams being hired as his new coach.
“I thought it was best-case scenario. I couldn’t have been happier,” Cunningham said. “It was the perfect person for us, and I was just excited for the team, and for us to be able to learn from him and take it to the next level.”
Here are some additional similarities between Phoenix’s and Detroit’s top players.
- Booker and Cunningham: They are 6-foot-6 and can score at will with elite athleticism; solid playmakers who can play the one- and two-guard spots as stellar ball-handlers; smart defensive players. But Devin Booker is the better outside shooter. Cunningham, who played just 12 games this past season because of a fractured left shin, was a one-and-done in college like Booker and they lived up to the hype of their teams’ best players, and both earned All-Rookie First Team honors. Cunningham has averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 assists, shoots at a 41.1% clip and 30.9% from deep per game in his first two pro years. Booker’s produced 23.9 points, 4.8 assists, and has shot 46.1% and 35.6% from the 3 for his career.
- Paul and Jaden Ivey: Paul and Detroit’s other 2023 All-Rookie Second Team selection Ivey were top-five overall draft picks who left college as sophomores. Ivey is a shooting guard and not on the Point God’s level as a distributor (9.5 for his career). However, Ivey can rack up assists. His 5.2 per game was Detroit’s third-best in that category behind the team’s primary ball handlers Killian Hayes (6.2) and Cunningham. Ivey scored the third-most, 16.3 points, and Paul’s 15.1 points during his three seasons in Phoenix was in its top three before Durant (26 points per game) came in February. Ivey and Paul are capable of shooting from long range (34.3% for Ivey, 36.9% is Paul’s career average) but aren’t volume shooters from there.
- Ayton and Jalen Duren: Both are 6-foot-11 and former one-and-dones from Arizona and Memphis, respectively; they entered the league with raw talent and much upside; Duren was on a 2022 All-Rookie Second Team selection, Ayton earned First Team honors in 2019; Duren averaged 9.8 points and team-highs 8.9 rebounds and 64.8 shooting percentage, Ayton has averaged 16.7 points with team-highs 10.4 rebounds and 60.4% shooting for his career.
Williams praised most of the team’s roster being in attendance at his introductory press conference to show their “hunger” and “desire” for how they’re already dialed into him. Detroit’s top scorer Bojan Bogdanovic was not there.
Williams explained how that was a parallel to his initial arrival in Phoenix.
“Those guys were hungry, they wanted it,” Williams said. “I remember my first meeting with Devin Booker, he was like, ‘Coach, whatever you need, I’ll do it.’ And that allowed for us to have the kind of success that we had there. Again, I want to do more. I want to do different. I want to make sure it’s unique to this particular team.”