The Pistons fired Monty Williams a year after he signed him to a 6-year, $78.5 million deal as coach

The Detroit Pistons announced on Wednesday that Monty Williams has stepped down as the team's head coach. According to team sources, Pistons owner Tom Gores made the decision to fire Williams in the last 24 hours.

Williams signed one of the largest contracts in NBA history last June and has about $60 million left on his six-year deal. The decision to part ways with him comes after a season in which Detroit finished with a franchise-worst 14 wins and suffered a historic 28-game losing streak that began four games into the season and didn't end until Dec. 30.

“Decisions like these are difficult to make and I want to thank Monty for all his hard work and dedication,” Gores said in a statement Wednesday. “Coaching presents many dynamic challenges that arise over the course of a season and Monty has always faced them with grace. However, after carefully reviewing our performance and assessing our current state as an organization, we will determine a new path forward.”

The Pistons' disappointing 2023-24 campaign plunged them even further into the abyss during a rebuild that began in 2020 and produced no progress in terms of wins and losses. Gores told reporters in December that change was coming, and while the organization made several acquisitions leading up to the trade deadline, the recent hiring of Trajan Langdon as Detroit's new president of basketball operations was the kind of change many fans were already expecting.

When interviewing during the hiring process for the position for which Langdon was selected, Gores told candidates that they would have complete freedom to fire or hire anyone they chose, regardless of money, according to team and league sources.

In order to keep his job this upcoming season, Williams was to be evaluated and, essentially, go through the interview process with Langdon. According to team and league sources, the expectation was that Williams would present a detailed plan for how he could make the Pistons better on the court.

Not only will Williams have to explain his path forward to the new president, but then both of them will have to explain it to Gores as well. Additionally, those involved with the decision to keep Williams or move on want to know if he is truly committed to coaching the team in a rebuilding situation. Team sources said the organization is looking for full alignment from top to bottom this offseason.

Williams was hired with the hopes of helping a young Detroit team take a step in the right direction after winning just 17 games in 2022-23. After being disappointed with the candidates presented to him during the hiring process in April and May of 2023, Gores rolled out the red carpet and successfully landed Williams — who had recently been fired by the Phoenix Suns and whose wife was battling cancer — an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Gores' offer included a contract that could reach $100 million with incentives and included additional health benefits and access to a private plane for Williams, who initially turned down the job, and his family to use as long as his wife was in the midst of her fight. Williams explained at his introductory news conference why he took the job:

“The quick answer is (Weaver), players and money. It's something people don't talk about. They say it wasn't about the money. I laugh at that. I think it's disrespectful. … When somebody is so generous to give me that kind of money, one, it should be appreciated and two, it should be talked about. … I love the building process. I love watching players get better. I love seeing a guy figure out for the first time how to handle a crisis situation. These jobs are privileges, and there's only 30 of them, and that's the way I look at it.”

The weekend before Christmas, when the Pistons were going through their historic losing streak and had only two wins on the season, Gores spoke to a select group of reporters, including AthleticHe admitted via video call that he is more involved in the day-to-day activities than before, as his team is in trouble and there seems to be no clear solution in sight.

“I've been talking about the rotation with Monty and I. I don't usually do that,” Gores said. “Monty is so good and knows what he's doing, he's even willing to talk about it. We have to change something. I can't tell you exactly what it is. We're working so hard. We're probably two weeks ahead of you guys. Our frustration is catching up with us, too. We expected a lot more than this.

“We have to be real and understand that there are things that are not working with the makeup of the team. Sure, we should have won a couple more games, but how many of those games? Three or four? Who knows what that number is. We are not prepared the way we should be prepared. … I do expect change. I don’t think there should be a narrative here that there is no change. Change is coming. All I’m saying is that in terms of Monty, Troy, all of those things … they will be in place, but I’m on all of them. They will let you know that, too. There is a lot of accountability that needs to be maintained. There may be an increase in staffing and other things like that. That’s for sure. Change is coming. We’re not perfect right now. We have to add and remove. We’re already working on it. We will make changes. We will make them. We just don’t know exactly what they will be yet.”

While Williams didn't have the best roster to work with (and injuries early in the season didn't make things any better), he, along with everyone else involved, played a role in Detroit's epic defeat. He started 2020 No. 7 pick Killian Hayes for most of the team's first 30 games. According to team and league sources, the Pistons were open to trading or moving on from Hayes last summer. By every metric, Hayes was one of the least efficient scorers not only currently in the NBA, but in the history of the game. However, Hayes' 6-foot-5-inch frame, ball movement and occasional passing defense appealed to Williams from afar, and the coach wanted a chance to revive the lottery pick's career

Additionally, Williams' trust in Hayes came at the cost of No. 5 pick Jaden Ivy in 2023, who earned All-Rookie honors in his first year. After making all the starts in his rookie season, Ivy began his second season off the bench.

Ivy wasn't perfect last season. He needed to improve defensively and as a decision-maker. Some habits needed to change, but Williams prioritized the in-game development of Hayes, with whom the organization was willing to share its top-five pick last year. Ivy coming off the bench wasn't the issue. Ivy coming off the bench and playing fewer minutes than Hayes over the first two months of the season is where the questions began to arise.

There was an organizational meeting in Detroit mid-season, and one of the things Williams was told by the staff was that Ivy wasn’t doing much as a primary ballhandler.

“I have to eat it. I wish I had eaten it sooner,” Williams said.

Williams committed to playing an all-bench lineup most of the season, despite having a roster that probably shouldn't have had more than seven or eight players. Franchise cornerstones Cade Cunningham and Ivy were benched for most of the season, with little surprise when the latter, in December, became a starter. According to NBA.com, from October 25 to December 25, Detroit's bench played the 13th-most minutes in the NBA despite having the worst plus-minus in the league. Additionally, the Pistons' bench had the league's worst net rating of any bench. Nevertheless, Williams continued to lead a reserve-heavy lineup.

No one person can be blamed for Detroit's total failure of a season. Such a defeat affects the entire organization. However, the owner would not fire himself, and the Pistons could not afford to bring back all the key decision-makers from the worst season in franchise history.

Through Gores, Langdon was given the freedom to do as he wished within the organization, and he decided to clean house.

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(Photo: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)