FILE–Coach Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Monty Williams, the former coach of the Phoenix Suns, will be named the new head coach of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, according to multiple media reports Thursday.
ESPN and The Athletic said Williams have agreed on terms of a six-year deal with the rebuilding Pistons, who have not won a playoff series since 2008 and have reached the post-season only twice since 2009.
ESPN reported the contract could pay $78.5 million, the largest coaching deal in NBA history, while The Athletic had it at $72 million, $12 million a season, with options and incentives for up to $100 million over eight years.
Williams, who coached New Orleans from 2010-2015, was fired last month after four seasons guiding the Suns, a championship contender that lost the 2021 NBA Finals and fell in the second round of the playoffs the past two seasons.
In nine seasons as an NBA head coach, Williams has a 367-336 record.
Williams, last year’s NBA Coach of the Year, takes over a Pistons squad that went a league-worst 17-65 this past season, prompting Dwane Casey to step down as coach in April.
After Detroit’s worst season since 1979-80, Williams will be called upon to revive a young roster sparked by Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic.