After a disastrous first season, the Detroit Pistons fired head coach Monty Williams on Wednesday, Yahoo Sports confirmed. The team officially announced the move shortly before noon.
“These types of decisions are difficult to make, and I would like to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication.” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a statement. “Coaching has many dynamic challenges that arise during a season and Monty has always handled them with grace. But after carefully reviewing our performance and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course for the future.”
“I have great respect for Monty as a coach and as a person, and I am confident he will be successful in his future endeavors,” said Gores. “I sincerely wish him and his family all the best.”
This was Williams’ first season in Detroit after four seasons with the Phoenix Suns and a five-season stint in New Orleans in previous head coaching jobs.
Williams leaves Detroit with five years and more than $65 million remaining on his contract. His team won only fourteen games last season and finished in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons lost an NBA-record 28 straight games last year before going into a skid in late December. The Pistons hired Trajan Langdon as their new president last month, but team owner Tom Gores made the final decision. The new was first reported by ESPN.
Pistons owner Tom Gores made the final call yesterday, the news was delivered today by new Pistons president Trajan Langdon to Monty Williams about his dismissal after one season
— Vincent Goodwill (@VinceGoodwill) June 19, 2024
At the end of the 2022-2023 season, head coach Dwane Casey stepped down and moved to a front office position, allowing general manager Troy Weaver to make his first head coaching hire in Detroit. Weaver selected Williams and rewarded him with a six-year, $78.5 million contract with a two-year team option that would total more than $100 million. Weaver and Williams had a relationship that grew out of their time in Oklahoma City.
The Pistons have had four consecutive lottery picks, highlighted by Cade Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick. Detroit also drafted Killian Hayes (No. 7 in 2020), Jaden Ivey (No. 5 in 2022) and Ausar Thompson (No. 5 in 2023) op. Hayes played 31 games for Detroit last season but was waived on February 8. The Pistons are ranked fifth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, which begins on June 26.
The Pistons last won a postseason game in 2008 and last made the playoffs in 2019.
