According to Mike Curtis of the Detroit News on Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons have named Monty Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia as their new head coach. The Pistons are showing great commitment to Williams, as they have come to terms with him on a six year contract worth $78.5 million.
Williams now becomes the highest paid coach in the NBA. The previous highest paid head coach is Gregg Popovich of East Chicago, Illinois at $11 million per year. Popovich is the all-time leader in coaching wins in the NBA. All of his 1366 wins have been with the San Antonio Spurs.
The Pistons are the third team Williams has coached in his career. He was with the New Orleans Hornets/New Orleans Pelicans from 2010 to 2015, and then with the Phoenix Suns over the last four seasons. He was fired from the Suns on May 13.
In 2022, Williams was named the NBA head coach of the year. The Suns had a record of 64 wins and 18 losses for an outstanding winning percentage of .780. The great regular season came one season after the Suns reached the 2021 NBA Finals. Phoenix lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Heading into the 2023 postseason, expectations for the Suns were high when they acquired Kevin Durant of Washington, D.C. from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline. However, the Suns lost in six games to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets begin the NBA Finals on Thursday night at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado when they host the Miami Heat.
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