One Man’s Trash, Another Man’s Treasure

On Wednesday night, Monty Williams agreed to be the next head coach of the Detroit Pistons.

The deal is worth $78.5 million and will last until the 2029-2030 NBA season, making Williams the highest-paid coach in NBA history.

What Williams brings to the table as a head coach makes this the most ideal hire for the Detroit Pistons. Williams completely turned around the culture of the Phoenix Suns when he took over as head coach in 2019.

Despite the regular season being cut short by nine games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Williams had already improved upon the Sun’s previous record, winning 15 more games than the previous season.

Following the 2019-20 NBA season, Williams led the Suns to three playoff appearances, the most notable being the Suns’ NBA Final’s appearance in the 2020-21 playoffs, ending the Sun’s 10-year drought of not appearing in the playoffs.

In addition to bringing a winning culture to the Suns, all-star shooting guard Devin Booker saw constant improvement under Williams. Remarkably, Booker averaged a career-high this past season in both points and field-goal percentage.

Looking at how the Piston’s roster stands as of now, Williams will be effective at developing the Piston’s young players and turning the tide of their losing woes.

Expect Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren to take leaps in their talent level next season for the Pistons. Not to mention, the Pistons will surely improve on their petrifying 17-win season under Williams.

It’s worth noting Williams was available for hire after the Phoenix Suns fired him following their loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.

Although the Suns letting Williams go made sense to a degree, this decision might come back to haunt the team.

You have to look at the situation Williams was put in during the latter half of this NBA season. After the new Sun’s owner, Mat Ishbia, took over the team and influenced the Kevin Durant trade, the very roster Williams was coaching and winning with diminished.

Forwards, Mikal Bridges and Cameron Thomas were sent over in exchange for Durant. Still, they were vital players on the Sun’s roster. In addition, trading for a player with the skill level of Durant in the second half of the season can ultimately hurt the team’s chemistry.

Although the Suns won their final eight games of the regular season when Durant appeared, the team would clearly see some sort of struggle in the playoffs.

Take, for example, their four-point win over the Denver Nuggets in the last game of the regular season. Not a single Denver starter played against the Suns, and the Denver bench almost led the team to victory despite the Suns' entire starting roster playing.

When it comes to the Sun’s loss to the Nuggets in the playoffs, the ultimate deciding factor for Williams’ termination, the loss comes with an asterisk.

During the series against the Nuggets, the Suns saw two of their starting players retain injuries. Point guard Chris Paul suffered a groin injury, and center Deandre Ayton suffered a rib contusion, leaving the Suns short-staffed against the Nuggets.

Nevertheless, Wednesday marked a new beginning for both Williams and the Pistons as they embark on a journey to turn the franchise’s fortunes around and create a new era of success in Detroit.

With his proven track record of transforming teams and maximizing player potential, Monty Williams is poised to be the catalyst that turns another man’s trash into the Pistons’ treasure.