The Detroit Pistons are hiring former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams to be their next head coach, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
According to Charania, the deal is for six years and at least $72 million. It will make Williams the highest-paid coach in NBA history.
Williams spent the past four seasons as the coach of the Suns and is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year. The Suns reached the NBA Finals in 2021 but Williams was let go a few weeks ago after Phoenix fell short to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Playoffs.
The splashy coaching hire is consistent with past hires made by Pistons owner Tom Gores. In 2014, Gores and the Pistons lured Stan Van Gundy out of retirement by making him the President of Basketball Operations in addition to the head coach.
After moving on from Van Gundy, the franchise made another big splash by hiring Dwayne Casey, who was the reigning NBA Coach of the Year at the time.
Casey resigned from his head coaching position at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season and is moving to a role in the front office.
The deal with Williams is expected to be finalized in the coming days.
