Monty Williams will not return next season as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, the team announced on Wednesday,
The search process for a new head coach will begin immediately, according to the Pistons.
Last season, the Pistons, who recently hired Trajan Langdon as President of Basketball Operations and fired GM Troy Weaver, were 14-68(the worst record in the NBA), including an NBA-record-tying 28-game losing streak. Williams, who received the largest contract in league history for a head coach when he signed a six-year, $78 million deal to coach the Pistons, will be owed $65 million.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the decision to fire Williams was made at the ownership level.
“Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores in a press release. “Coaching has many dynamic challenges that emerge during a season and Monty always handled those with grace. However, after reviewing our performance carefully and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course moving forward.
“I have great respect for Monty as a coach and as a person, and I am certain he will be successful in his future endeavors,” added Gores. “I sincerely wish him and his family the very best.”
According to Gores, the Pistons, who have won three NBA titles, want to be winners once again.
“We are unwavering in our commitment to bring a championship-caliber team to Detroit,” said Gores. “We will be diligent and swift in our search for a new head coach to lead our exciting young core of players and will continue our vision towards building a best-in-class front office that will help us achieve sustainable success.”
Williams probably deserved better, but the Pistons decided they needed to make a change. For Williams, well, he got around $20 million when he was fired from the Suns, and now the two-time coach of the year will get an additional $65 million, so all isn’t bad on his end.
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