DETROIT )WXYZ) — Monty Williams has been dismissed after one season as head coach of the Detroit Pistons, the team announced Wednesday morning.
“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 statement released by the team. “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.”
The Pistons said that the search for finding a new coach "will begin immediately."
In his lone season as head coach, Williams led the Pistons to a 14-68 record, which is both the most amount of losses and the least amount of wins in a single season in franchise history. He also coached the Pistons during their 28-game losing streak, a mark that tied for the longest in NBA history.
Williams was fired with five years and $65 million dollars left on his deal. Williams was hired a little more than a year ago, with the coach signing a six-year, $72 million deal to make him the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
Before coming to Detroit, Williams spent the last four seasons coaching the Phoenix Suns, compiling a 194-115 record. He led the Suns to the playoffs three times, including an NBA Finals appearance in 2021, and won Coach of the Year in 2022.
Williams has been coaching in the NBA since the 2005-06 season, and was head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, amassing a 173–221 record. He also spent 5 seasons as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers (2005-10), an associate head coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2015-16) and an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers (2018-19).
This dismissal comes a few weeksafter former general manager Troy Weaver was dismissed a few weeks ago, after joining the team in 2020. The Pistons posted a record of 74-244 under Weaver. The franchise has undergone major turnover in the last month, with owner Tom Gores hiring Trajan Langdon as President of Basketball Operations after working with the New Orleans Pelicans the previous five seasons.
The Pistons haven't been to the playoffs since the 2015-16 season, and haven't won a playoff game since 2008. The 2024 NBA Draft is next week, and as of this writing, the Pistons have the No. 5 and the No. 54 picks in that draft. The draft will air on ESPN on June 26 (first round) and June 27 (second round).
