Roy Rogers leaves Pistons for Suns
By Dan Feldman
"Former Pistons assistant Roy Rogers is joining new Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek. Rogers was an option for Kings too, but is signing with Suns"
Maurice Cheeks definitely deserves an opportunity to hire his own staff, but I had hoped he would have wanted to keep Rogers, who had another year remaining on his contract.
The circumstantial evidence indicated Rogers did a really good job as the Pistons’ big-man coach under Lawrence Frank. Andre Drummond played better as a rookie than anyone could have expected. Greg Monroe showed a more well-rounded game. Jason Maxiell had his best season in years, and Viacheslav Kravtsov improved from a player who seemed in over his head earl in the season.
Rogers is rising the coaching ranks, and considering the Pistons interviewed assistants like J.B. Bickerstaff and Darrell Walker, I was surprised Rogers didn’t get a look (unless he did, and it was never reported publically). If he continues on this trajectory, he’ll eventually get his chance as a head coach.