Pistons fire coach Monty Williams for one season in record $78.5 million deal

The Detroit Pistons have fired coach Monty Williams, the team announced Wednesday. The decision to part ways with Williams was reportedly made at the ownership level. Williams, who was hired last offseason on a then-unprecedented $78.5 million, six-year contract, lasted just one year in his new role with the Pistons. He went 14-68 during a disastrous season that included a 28-game losing streak.

“Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a team statement. “Coaching has many dynamic challenges that emerge over the course of a season and Monty has always handled them with grace. However, after carefully reviewing our performance and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course for the future.”

The Pistons have already made a change within their basketball operations department when they named Trajan Langdon of the New Orleans Pelicans as their new president. Former general manager Troy Weaver left the team shortly after, and with Langdon in place, it appears the Pistons decided to clean house and start over without former NBA finalist Williams.

The contract Williams signed last offseason reset the market for other top coaches in the NBA. Shortly after the Williams deal, Erik Spoelstra signed a new eight-year, $120 million deal with the Miami Heat and that's the new normal. Ty Lue, Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr all signed significant new extensions over the past year, with higher annual salaries than the Pistons gave Williams.

Detroit needed to pay Williams that much because, after a successful tenure with the Phoenix Suns, he was in high demand. The Pistons, coming off a 17-win season at the time, didn't have a very attractive position to offer, and reports indicated the front office was split among several candidates. Williams, by far the most accomplished coach Detroit has spoken with, proved to be a reasonable compromise, and owner Tom Gores opened his checkbook to get him on board.

But his one season with the Pistons didn't go at all as planned. Detroit won fewer games last season than before Williams arrived despite the return of former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham from an injury that mostly kept him out of the 2022 season- 23. Young, key players like Jaden Ivey have struggled to find their place in a system while older, lesser players like Killian Hayes have played much more than the numbers suggested. Detroit's limited spacing made it difficult for their young ball-handlers to develop, and Williams didn't help matters with an offensive scheme emphasizing mid-range looks.

This system was viable in Phoenix with Chris Paul and Devin Booker. It didn't work with a younger team in Detroit. The Pistons need to turn years of high picks into a viable, balanced team. They will now turn to a new coach to help them achieve this.