Pelicans News: Collins apparently out of running for Pistons’ job

Just a couple days after New Orleans Pelicans General Manager Trajan Langdon lost out to Los Angeles Clippers General Manager Michael Winger for the Washington Wizards front office opening, it appears as though the team’s Lead Assistant Coach Jarron Collins is out of the running for the Detroit Pistons head coaching vacancy.

Collins, who had been viewed as a finalist for the position, was the only candidate out of the three that were designated with that label who did not receive another interview, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Now, while this does not completely rule him out of contention for the position, it is a pretty telling gesture from the Pistons’ organization that they would schedule interviews with Kevin Ollie and Milwaukee Bucks Assistant Coach Charles Lee, but not Collins.

Collins got his start on the coaching/scouting side of things in 2013 as a scout for the Clippers. From there, Collins joined Head Coach Steve Kerr’s staff upon Kerr’s arrival at Golden State in 2014.

At Golden State, he started out as a player development coach, but after only one season, he was promoted to assistant coach. In total, he spent seven seasons with the organization, contributing to three NBA titles in the process. Collins has been Head Coach Willie Green’s lead assistant since Green was named to the position back in 2021.

As we mentioned, Lee is currently an assistant coach on the Bucks. He’s held that position since 2018 (although he was promoted to lead assistant this past season). Before that, he was also on Mike Budenholzer’s staff from 2014 to 2018, when the two were members of the Atlanta Hawks.

Meanwhile, Ollie’s coaching resume includes a stint with the UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Team, where he served as an assistant and head coach during his eight-year tenure. And also includes a two-year run as the head coach of Overtime Elite (his current position).

In Collins’ case, it is probably for the better, as it appears that the Pistons’ owner Tom Gores isn’t too thrilled about any of the three candidates. The Pistons went ahead and offered former Phoenix Suns Head Coach Monty Williams a massive offer, to which he was reported to have declined.

Nonetheless, whichever of these three coaches ends up being brought in as the new head coach will likely have a short leash, considering Gores’ initial dissatisfaction with the trio of candidates. So maybe, Collins is dodging a bullet here.