The Detroit Pistons are moving on from head coach Monty Williams, one year after giving him the largest coaching contract in NBA history.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news of Williams’ firing this morning. The 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year went 14-68 in his lone season in Motown.
“After one season, the Detroit Pistons have dismissed coach Monty Williams — who leaves with five years and $65M-plus left on his deal,” Wojnarowski tweeted. “New President Trajan Langdon will move to make his own coaching hire now.”
Williams, 52, signed a six-year, $78.5 million contract with Detroit last June after four seasons with the Phoenix Suns that included an NBA Finals appearance in 2021 and a 64-18 record the following year.
To say the Pistons’ investment did not pay off would be an understatement. Williams basically made $1 million per win, and oversaw a 28-game losing streak from Oct. 30 through Dec. 28, the longest in-season losing skid in NBA history.
Williams owns an overall record of 381-404 as an NBA head coach, but came into this past season 17 games over .500, so there is at least some track record of him having success in the league.
Most likely, he’ll get another chance to redeem himself elsewhere, but with all that money he still has coming to him, why rush into another opportunity?
In the meantime, Trajan Langdon will look to find the coach that can lift the Pistons out of what has essentially been 15 years of misery.