Monty Williams Fired (Hired by Detroit)

[Hoop Head]

I always think of Rodney Rogers having 9 points in 9 seconds for the Nuggets.

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[TRW]

Annnnnnddd....he gone. Pistons fired him this morning. No link, just saw on Get Up on ESPN.

 

[jbjarko]

Do they go after Vogel?

 

[Town Drunk]

The man got paid though.

Detroit Pistons fire head coach Monty Williams after one season

The Pistons last won a postseason game in 2008 and last made the playoffs in 2019.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[Yuma]

The man got paid though.

Detroit Pistons fire head coach Monty Williams after one season

The Pistons last won a postseason game in 2008 and last made the playoffs in 2019.

sports.yahoo.com

I wonder if he stays home with his family this time, like it was rumored he wanted to do after the Suns let him go? He would certainly make more money! Maybe that's what the Lakers were waiting on for their new coach hire?

 

[RON_IN_OC]

$65,000,000 vacation.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

With that kind of cheddar, he'd be dumb to take any gig that goes towards his offset language in his contract. Keep Detroit on the hook for as much as possible.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Shocked yes, overly shocked no

 

[Suns_fan69]

Monty signed for 78.5 million dollars and produced 14 wins. That's gotta be a record $5.6M per win. I know, not entirely fair as that 78.5M was for 6 years, but still...

 

[Raindog]

Huh... has to be more to it than just the poor record last year. Everyone expected the Pistons to be bad, so it wasn't like they really underperformed that much. To be on the hook for that much money, something else went on that impacted this decision.

 

[Chaplin]

Huh... has to be more to it than just the poor record last year. Everyone expected the Pistons to be bad, so it wasn't like they really underperformed that much. To be on the hook for that much money, something else went on that impacted this decision.

They've completely rebuilt their executive structure, so this isn't a surprise.

But I'll bet there is a 99% chance that Monty won't take another job for at least this year. Even if offered one. The only way he would is if he got offered more money and after this year in Detroit, that ain't going to happen unless a team is desperate.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Like I said Monty was a head case

 

[Ronin]

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[Raindog]

Like I said Monty was a head case

That's my suspicion, too. In spite of outward appearances, he always seemed like a "my way or the highway" type that eventually rubs people the wrong way. We saw some of that here, and it explains a lot of his history elsewhere in the NBA.

 

[95pro]

Plot twist: Monty wanted to get fired.

This is just part of Monty's money making scheme. He'll get more from the Lakers, then he'll get himself fired.

 

[Phrazbit]

I wonder if he stays home with his family this time, like it was rumored he wanted to do after the Suns let him go? He would certainly make more money! Maybe that's what the Lakers were waiting on for their new coach hire?

He seemed completely burned out during the 23 season. IMO, he only went to Detroit because they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

 

[Superbone]

That's my suspicion, too. In spite of outward appearances, he always seemed like a "my way or the highway" type that eventually rubs people the wrong way. We saw some of that here, and it explains a lot of his history elsewhere in the NBA.

I was mad at Crowder at the beginning but it looked to go both ways. Monty also didn't handle Ayton well. His inability to work with NBA personalities is a huge flaw.

 

[Hoop Head]

I was mad at Crowder at the beginning but it looked to go both ways. Monty also didn't handle Ayton well. His inability to work with NBA personalities is a huge flaw.

I was mad at Crowder also but that flipped entirely. I don't blame Crowder much at all, maybe 5%, and put probably 23% on Monty and 72% on JJ. At some point the General Manager needs to manage the team and tell everyone to be adults. He didn't do that and it festered.

Monty wanting Ayton dealt is reasonable. More than half of the board did as well and we didn't have to deal with him directly. The guy was/is a bonehead and Monty tried to keep him engaged, even did so for some spurts but Ayton kept being Ayton. Again, the GM didn't listen to the coach and make a move when we had the chance.

I credit Monty for the turn around here more than James Jones. Monty led this team with Rubio to a near 500 ball club and had the bubble run as well despite Ayton being suspended the first 1/4 of the season and a mixed bag of "talent". Since then things got accelerated with CP3 coming here but I think we could have continued winning at a very similar rate had we held the course with the original timeline and dealt Ayton. This team never played defense until Monty arrived and it didn't happen because had defensive stalwarts, it was Monty's coaching and system.

 

[Covert Rain]

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One year is so dumb after signing him to that contract. At least give the guy a chance to put his stamp on things if you are going to bother making him the highest paid coach. I mean why do that unless you want him to remake your team?

 

[Chaplin]

One year is so dumb after signing him to that contract. At least give the guy a chance to put his stamp on things if you are going to bother making him the highest paid coach. I mean why do that unless you want him to remake your team?

Frank Vogel is that you?

 

[Covert Rain]

Frank Vogel is that you?

Frank Vogel was not made out to be one of the best or the best by making him the highest paid coach in the NBA signing him to a record deal. Lots of coaches have been fired in the 1st year. How many just after paying them a record deal?

 

[Raindog]

I was mad at Crowder also but that flipped entirely. I don't blame Crowder much at all, maybe 5%, and put probably 23% on Monty and 72% on JJ. At some point the General Manager needs to manage the team and tell everyone to be adults. He didn't do that and it festered.

Monty wanting Ayton dealt is reasonable. More than half of the board did as well and we didn't have to deal with him directly. The guy was/is a bonehead and Monty tried to keep him engaged, even did so for some spurts but Ayton kept being Ayton. Again, the GM didn't listen to the coach and make a move when we had the chance.

I credit Monty for the turn around here more than James Jones. Monty led this team with Rubio to a near 500 ball club and had the bubble run as well despite Ayton being suspended the first 1/4 of the season and a mixed bag of "talent". Since then things got accelerated with CP3 coming here but I think we could have continued winning at a very similar rate had we held the course with the original timeline and dealt Ayton. This team never played defense until Monty arrived and it didn't happen because had defensive stalwarts, it was Monty's coaching and system.

While I certainly agree with you that James Jones is an idiot and a half, I do believe that Monty also seems like a pretty inflexible guy in the way he does things. I think he's the type where things start out good because of his outward affability, but go downhill after a honeymoon period because of his apparent inability to compromise. My guess is either some of the key players in Detroit were speaking out about him to management or otherwise Monty himself was grousing at ownership/management because they weren't amenable to whatever he wanted.

 

[Hoop Head]

While I certainly agree with you that James Jones is an idiot and a half, I do believe that Monty also seems like a pretty inflexible guy in the way he does things. I think he's the type where things start out good because of his outward affability, but go downhill after a honeymoon period because of his apparent inability to compromise. My guess is either some of the key players in Detroit were speaking out about him to management or otherwise Monty himself was grousing at ownership/management because they weren't amenable to whatever he wanted.

The only player close to "untouchable" is Cade Cunningham. He's a nice player who should have a good career but he's not the type of PG that Monty works well with. He's not a true PG and he's also not a good enough off the ball to to be in a Shai situation where he can be slotted into either guard spot and excel. If Cade made the call, that's troubling and would be akin to Booker calling for Monty's job after that first year, sans bubble run.

I think Monty is a bit hardheaded and set in his ways and that was going to be an issue when Detroit replaced management halfway through the year. It's one thing to work with who hired you and it's another for a new regime to come in with a ridiculously overpriced and stubborn coach they may not want.

 

[TJ]

As was the case in New Orleans, Monty couldn’t get out of his own way with his personal gripe with players. Good coaches meet their most difficult players where they’re at (see Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman). Not the other way around

 

[Hoop Head]

As was the case in New Orleans, Monty couldn’t get out of his own way with his personal gripe with players. Good coaches meet their most difficult players where they’re at (see Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman). Not the other way around

Monty didn't have issues with players in New Orleans. He and Del Demps, their GM, didn't see eye to eye. Monty was told "Playoffs or you're out" and he got them the 8th seed, where they were swept by Golden State, and they still fired him. It was viewed as a dumb and bad move by New Orleans. It wasn't a player issue.

His biggest issue here was Ayton and look what happened there. I don't think anyone can blame Monty for Ayton's lack of development. You need to care to develop and Ayton only cares about his Xbox and being snowed in. Dude couldn't even buy a proper mattress for 7-8 months in Portland.