The Detroit Pistons dismissed coach Monty Williams on Wednesday after just one season, agreeing to pay out the remaining $65 million on his contract.
Despite new Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, who was hired a month ago, frequently discussing the team’s future with Williams, sources informed ESPN that the decision came from owner Tom Gores.
Sources say Gores and Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem were proponents of firing Williams.
With the draft and free agency approaching, it’s a difficult time for Langdon to start a coaching search. The Pistons recently agreed to hire New Orleans Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson, who has a history with both Williams and Langdon in New Orleans, as a prominent assistant coach, according to sources.
Gores enticed Williams to Detroit with a record-setting six-year, $78 million contract following his dismissal by the Phoenix Suns, assigning him to the Pistons’ extensive rebuild. Williams, initially planning to sit out the season due to his wife’s cancer diagnosis, was convinced by Gores’ persistent recruitment and substantial offer. Williams had a solid relationship with the recently dismissed general manager Troy Weaver.
The Pistons matched an NBA record with a 28-game losing streak during the regular season and ended with the league’s worst record at 14-68.
Over the past five seasons, the Pistons have the worst record in the league, at 94-290 (.245). Detroit was also the third-youngest team in the NBA.
Detroit holds the No. 5 pick in next Wednesday’s NBA draft.
As they begin their coaching search, the Pistons lag behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers, who are nearing decisions in their own coaching hires.
Williams reached the NBA Finals as coach of the Suns in 2021-22, completing a massive turnaround with a 64-18 regular-season record. Williams was 194-115 (.628) in four seasons with the Suns and was 173-221 (.439) in five seasons with the Pelicans that culminated with a playoff appearance.
All-Star forward Pascal Siakam plans to sign a four-year, $189.5 million maximum contract to remain with the Indiana Pacers, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and general manager Chad Buchanan made the max offer to Siakam and his agents, Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani of Life Sports Agency, on Tuesday. This offer came shortly after the NBA’s new early contact rules allowed teams to start negotiating extensions and free agent deals with their own players following the NBA Finals.
Siakam, aged 30, intends to finalize the deal once the NBA’s free agency moratorium concludes on July 6, according to sources.
Following his arrival in a major trade with the Toronto Raptors in January, Siakam played a pivotal role in guiding the franchise to its first Eastern Conference finals appearance in a decade. The Pacers targeted Siakam in the final year of his Raptors contract, betting that his championship experience and All-NBA credentials would complement All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton perfectly.
With Siakam now committed, the Pacers will have Haliburton and Siakam locked in until 2028 and 2029, respectively. Siakam’s contract would rank as the second-largest in Pacers history, following Haliburton’s five-year, $245 million max extension signed last year.
Siakam made an immediate impact upon joining Indiana, averaging 21.3 points while shooting 55% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc across 41 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he achieved a remarkable feat, becoming just the third player in NBA history, after Elgin Baylor in 1961 and Wilt Chamberlain in 1967, to average 35 points and 10 rebounds in each of his first two playoff games. He totaled 367 points during the 2024 playoffs, the highest for a Pacers player since Paul George in 2014.
Originally drafted as the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, Siakam earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player award in 2019, playing a crucial role in Toronto’s inaugural championship season.
Several NBA teams have reportedly faced challenges arranging workouts with 2024 draft prospect Bronny James, according to sources speaking to ESPN. However, Rich Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports Group and agent for the former USC guard, confirmed that James has conducted individual workouts with only two teams so far: the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers. Paul emphasized that this selective approach is intentional.
In response to concerns raised about preferential treatment, Paul pushed back against any suggestion that James has been treated differently from other players during the pre-draft evaluation period, as reported by ESPN on Wednesday.
