A couple of hours ago, we talked about how the Detroit Pistons were seriously pursuing former Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans (and Hornets) Head Coach Monty Williams.
Well, it looks like their tireless pursuit paid off, as it was just announced by The Athletic’s Shams Charania and James L. Edwards that Williams and the Pistons agreed to a contract. And brother, did Williams get paid.
Breaking: Monty Williams and the Detroit Pistons have agreed in principle on a six-year, $72 million deal for Williams to become the franchise’s new head coach, sources tell me and @JLEdwardsIII. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 1, 2023
While it is still yet to be finalized, it looks like it will be a six-year, 72-million-dollar deal. That is an average of 12 million dollars per year. For reference, the highest-paid coach in the NBA last year was San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich (11.5 million per year). The second-highest was Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr (9.5 million per year). That means that, barring any other huge coaching hires, Williams will be the highest-paid coach in the league next season.
What makes this especially interesting is that just a few days ago, it was reported that the Pistons made a massive offer to Williams, and he rejected it. How much was that originally offered? Did initial reporting misinterpret the situation? Was this just too much money for Williams to pass up? Those are questions that will surely be answered in the coming days.
Pelicans Lead Assistant Coach Jarron Collins was also in the running for this position. However, even before the Pistons locked eyes on Williams, his chances were looking bleak, as the Pistons scheduled Kevin Ollie and Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant Charles Lee (the other two major candidates for the job) for a third round of interviews but failed to do the same with Collins (signaling the organization was no longer interested in him for the job).
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.