On Monday, the Detroit Pistons announced head coach J.B. Bickerstaff complete coaching staff for the 2024-25 NBA season.
Luke Walton, Sidney Lowe, Fred Vinson, Vitaly Potapenko, Kevin Burleson, Jerome Allen and Josh Estes have been named as assistant coaches.
Additionally, Jarett Jack and Steve Scalzi have been retained as assistant coaches.
Walton comes to Detroit after spending the last two seasons in Cleveland on Bickerstaff’s staff. Prior to Cleveland, Walton spent three seasons as head coach of the Sacramento Kings (2019-2022). Walton played 10 NBA seasons with the Lakers and Cavaliers. H
He is the son of the late NBA legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, Bill Walton.
Lowe returns to Detroit for his third stint, second as an assistant coach, after the previous three seasons as an assistant coach in Cleveland under Bickerstaff.
Following five years as an assistant with Cleveland (1994-1999) and one with Minnesota (1999-2000), Lowe was named head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies in 2000 and remained at the helm until 2002-03. He was the lead assistant to Head Coach Flip Saunders in Detroit during the 2005-06 season when the team advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Vinson joins the Pistons as an assistant coach after serving in the same role in New Orleans for the previous 14 seasons. He helped the Pelicans to four playoff appearances (one as the New Orleans Hornets) and served as the Pelicans’ 2019 NBA Summer League Head Coach in Las Vegas.
Potapenko joins the Pistons staff after six seasons as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Prior to joining the Grizzlies in 2018-19, Potapenko served five seasons (2013-18) as the assistant director of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of the 2016 NBA Championship. Potapenko appeared in 610 games (189 starts) with Boston, Cleveland, Seattle and Sacramento.
Burleson comes to Detroit as an assistant coach after serving as the head coach of the Houston Rockets’ NBA G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the last two seasons.
Previously, Burleson spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves after a stint as an assistant/player development coach with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2018-19.
Allen rejoins the Pistons for his second stint as an assistant coach. Previously, he worked on Dwane Casey’s staff from 2021-23 and served as a pro personnel scout for the Boston Celtics during the 2023-24 season. Prior to his first stint in Detroit, Allen spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Celtics and served the previous five years as the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania after one year as Penn’s interim head coach.
Estes joins the Pistons as an assistant coach after spending the previous four seasons (2020-24) as a coaching analyst and analytics coordinator in Cleveland under Bickerstaff.
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