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Monty Williams hired by Pistons on massive six-year deal to be next coach

Monty Williams wasn’t out of a job for long.

Williams, who was recently fired by the Suns, is going to be the Detroit Pistons’ next coach.

Williams and Pistons agreed in principle on a six-year, $72 million deal on Wednesday night for him to become the franchise’s new head coach, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Monty Williams
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The deal averages out to $12 million per season plus two additional team option years that could push it to eight years, $100 million.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has the pact at six-years, $78.5 million.

This was a massive salary commitment and a huge coup for the Pistons, who went a dismal 17-65 last season.

Detroit owner Tom Gores and general manager Troy Weaver were able to snag the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year to build a new culture around a talented young Detroit roster.

The Suns had fired the 51-year-old Williams on May 13 after Phoenix fell to the Denver Nuggets in six games during their Western Conference semifinal series.

Williams, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, was fired despite a successful four-year tenure with Phoenix, in which he posted a 194-115 record and winning 63 percent of his games.

He has been the NBA’s winningest coach since 2021.

Williams’ time with the Suns was highlighted by a trip to the 2021 NBA Finals, in which the Suns blew a 2-0 lead and lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Williams blamed himself for the Suns’ poor showing in their Game 6 loss to the Nuggets.

“I take that personally, not having our team ready to play in the biggest game of the year,” Williams said. “That’s something that I pride myself on and it just didn’t happen. … That’s something I have to take a deep look at, everything I’m doing.”

But now he will have another chance — and some time, thanks to this long-term deal — to try to build the Pistons into an NBA Finals contender.