The Detroit Pistons have received permission to interview Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney and Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori for their head coach position, per ESPN senior insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wojnarowski adds that the Pistons will also be interviewing J.B. Bickerstaff, who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers for the past four plus-seasons before being dismissed in May. Bickerstaff went 143-103 in his final three seasons with the Cavs. He appears to be the first coach the Pistons will interview due to his availability.
Pistons Receive Permission to Interview Trio of Candidates
Among the coaches that the Pistons are set to interview, Bickerstaff has the most experience by far. In his time with Cleveland, the 45-year-old instilled a winning culture. First and foremost, he focused on the defensive end of the court, the Cavs’ defense often stifling. He emphasized character and players bought into the idea of being stars in their role. Though Cleveland wasn’t a prolific scoring team, they also ran a sound offensive system. In 2023-24, they were top-10 in 3-point field goals (13.5) and assists (28.0) per game.
Sweeney and Nori are hot names after their team’s recent playoff runs. That isn’t to say there weren’t known commodities, particularly in the case of Sweeney. Nonetheless, with Dallas reaching the NBA Finals and Minnesota finding the to the Conference Finals, their impact on those teams is now under the microscope. Where Nori’s been characterized as a player’s coach, Sweeney’s tactical genius has been highlighted.
This is not the full list of coaches that the Pistons plan to interview.
Pistons are expected to call for permission on more assistants too, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2024
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Several candidates that have been interviewed for other head coaching positions and didn’t land those jobs may become available with the Los Angeles Lakers hiring JJ Redick as head coach on Thursday. Such candidates include Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, Miami Heat lead assistant Chris Quinn, and Denver Nuggets lead assistant David Adelman.
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