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Detroit Pistons hire assistant coach Sean Sweeney

By Ash Vanclay

ST. FRANCIS, WI - NOVEMBER 09: Sean Sweeney of the Milwaukee Bucks passes the ball to players during an all access practice on November 9, 2016 at the Milwaukee Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
ST. FRANCIS, WI - NOVEMBER 09: Sean Sweeney of the Milwaukee Bucks passes the ball to players during an all access practice on November 9, 2016 at the Milwaukee Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Pistons hired Dwane Casey as their new head coach on June 11 after a lengthy process. Now, we have our first piece of news as to who will join him on the sideline: Milwaukee Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney.

Reports on Friday, courtesy of Adrian Wojnarowski (tweet below), stated that the Detroit Pistons have hired Sean Sweeney as one of their top assistants.

Sweeney has been an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks since the 2015-15 season. He has been widely recognized as being the one responsible for implementing the changes to the Bucks’ defense, which skyrocketed their defensive ratings after an abysmal 2013-14 season.

Sweeney is also widely attributed with the development of the Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. He is the preferred workout partner of Antetokounmpo during the off-season, as well as the assistant that has worked with him the closest.

This can be evidenced by the quote below, taken from Kevin Arnovitz’s article.

"“Summer was for the Greek national team, for family and for grinding at the Bucks’ training facility or wherever business took him. For Antetokounmpo, Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney — and not LeBron or Kevin Durant or anyone else — would be his preferred workout partner”"

Sweeney started his career as a player, playing at St. Thomas as the starting point guard for three years. In that time, he was named Player of the Year in his junior and senior seasons in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. After graduating in 2006, he eventually found himself as the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Evansville, where he began to use film and video.

He later became the video coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa for the 2010-11 season, where he was an influential part in their defensive schemes. He was only there for one season, before being picked up by the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant video coordinator. While there, Jason Kidd took notice, and promoted Sweeney to assistant coach.

When Kidd was hired by the Bucks, he brought Sweeney along with him, knowing how important he was.

Next: What's next for the Pistons this summer?

The Pistons have a strong history of defense and blue-collar effort. With Casey and Sweeney, those values should definitely be respected and present.

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