After a disastrous season, the Detroit Pistons fired general manager Troy Weaver on Friday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Weaver was reportedly offered an off-site scouting role as he still has time left on his contract, but he declined.
This is the first step for new team president Trajan Langdon as he begins to shape the future of the franchise.
Charania added that New Orleans Pelicans vice president of basketball administration Michael Blackstone is seen as a potential replacement to work under Langdon.
A 2023-2024 season to quickly forget
The Pistons finished the regular season with a 14-68 record, the worst in the NBA. The low point of the 2023-2024 season included an NBA-record 28 losing games after winning two games in October.
They eclipsed the longest single-season skid in the NBA by 26 games, which was done by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers also lost an all-time record 28 consecutive games in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Weaver was hired in June 2020 after a 10-year stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder in multiple capacities, culminating as vice president of basketball operations. During his four seasons in Detroit, the Pistons went 74-244 for a winning percentage of .303. Their best result in that period came in 2021-2022, when they won 23 games.
Weaver inherited a roster without a franchise star to build around. During his tenure, the Pistons had four straight lottery picks, highlighted by 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham.
Detroit also drafted Killian Hayes (No. 7 in 2020), Jaden Ivey (No. 5 in 2022) and Ausar Thompson (No. 5 in 2023).
With the 2024 NBA Draft approaching, the Pistons are ranked fifth despite having a 14% chance of winning the lottery and selecting the No. 1 pick.
At the end of the 2022-2023 season, head coach Dwane Casey stepped down and moved into a front office position, allowing Weaver to take his first head coaching appointment in Detroit. Weaver selected former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams and rewarded him with a six-year, $78.5 million contract, with a two-year team option that would exceed $100 million. Weaver and Williams had a relationship that grew out of their time in Oklahoma City.
The Pistons last won a postseason game in 2008 and last made the playoffs in 2019.
