Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of a controversial coaching hire

The Detroit Pistons will head into one of the most important offseason in recent memory as they look to make the move from tanker to at least play-in contender.

The excuses of youth and injuries aren’t going to fly for much longer, as we’ve seen teams like the Magic and Thunder, who are younger than the Pistons and have also dealt with injuries, improve this season the way were were hoping Detroit would.

Troy Weaver will likely have another high draft pick, and has around $30 million in cap space to spend on free agents this offseason, so fans will expect some kind of improvement next season.

But there are still questions to answer in this one, and one of the biggest is who will be coaching this team next season?

Dwane Casey is still under contract for one more season, so it’s possible he’ll be back, but the team could also go in a different direction, one that would cause some controversy.

Detroit Pistons: Dwane Casey or someone else?

The Detroit Pistons could just bring back coach Casey for the final year of his deal, as he has done the job he’s been asked to do, which is to help build a culture and develop young players.

That hasn’t translated to wins, and depending on who you ask, the player development has been so-so, as the Pistons just shipped out Saddiq Bey and both Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stewart have been up and down.

But for the third season in a row, the Detroit Pistons are likely to have at least one rookie on the first-team All-Rookie squad, so it’s hard to call Casey’s work in that area a failure. He’s also managed this team without any drama, on or off the court, and the players have not given up on their coach amidst all the losing.

But the lack of defensive progress or improvement in the win column could spell the end for Casey, and should if you asked a very vocal section of the Pistons’ fanbase, who never stops pining for him to be fired.

Add to that with the recent development that Ime Udoka just became available and you have the perfect storm of speculation about who the next coach will and should be. Udoka was a rising star in the coaching ranks before getting suspended and then fired by the Celtics, and many think he is one of the best young coaches in the game.

But he also comes with some amount of controversy that any team who interviews or hires him is going to have to reckon with.

There is no guarantee that the Detroit Pistons are going to move on from Dwane Casey, but if they do, is Udoka the right choice?