NBA

Monty Williams is the new head coach of the Detroit Pistons after signing a record 6-year, $78.5M deal

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The Detroit Pistons were not going to let Monty Williams walk away that easy. A week ago, the 51-year-old head coach turned down the team’s initial offer to be their next head coach. Detroit met with Williams a second time, but they had a larger offer to make Williams this time around. He accepted a six-year, $78.5 million deal to be the Pistons’ next head coach. It is the largest coaching deal in NBA history. 

Reports yesterday said that the Pistons were pursuing Monty Williams with a range of $10 million annually. Initially, Williams did not want the job, but Detroit’s massive contract offer was too much for the 2021-22 NBA head coach of the year to turn down.

After being fired by the Suns after being eliminated in the West Sem-Finals, Williams is right back in the head coaching market. He’ll have his hands full with a young Pistons squad that had the NBA’s worst record last season.

Monty Williams has signed a contract for the largest coaching deal in NBA history

Dwane Casey stepped down as head coach of the Pistons and moved into a front-office role. Their #1 candidate since that time had been Monty Williams and they were set on making that happen. It’s not every day that you see a head coach set records for the largest contracts signed.

Williams has the potential to earn even more according to reports. Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports said the contract could reach $100 million with incentives. His deal will also include additional team options after the six-year deal.

The talent in Detroit is not going to be the same as Williams was used to in Phoenix. There are some young prospects on the Pistons’ roster, but not true superstars. It’s now the job of Monty Willaims and his coaching staff to develop the talent that Detroit has and make them a relevant franchise again.