Pistons news: Dwane Casey out, replacement names already surfacing

The Detroit Pistons didn’t waste any time getting their offseason started.

Immediately after the season finale loss to the Chicago Bulls, head coach Dwane Casey announced that he had coached his last game for the Pistons and that he’d be moving to the front office.

It had been reported that Casey would choose his own future role with the team and that the Pistons may have brought him back as coach if he wanted to finish out his last year.

Even though Detroit was young, injured and rebuilding this season, it was still a disappointing year, as the team regressed in many areas and only won 17 games. Dwane Casey, who was mostly overseeing the rebuild with the Pistons, finished with a 121-263 record overall with Detroit.

With the team eyeing a pivot towards being competitive next season, and the prospects of a major roster overhaul coming, now seemed like a good time for a new direction and fresh start.

And there are already names surfacing for Dwane Casey’s possible replacement.

Detroit Pistons: Candidates to replace Dwane Casey

I wrote a preview of some of the coaching candidates for the Detroit Pistons and several of them have since been named as possibilities.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pistons are expected to talk with former Celtics’ head coach Ime Udoka, who they have interviewed in the past. He obviously comes with controversy after the way his time in Boston ended and there would be pros and cons for a team like the Pistons to make such a hire.

Bucks assistant Charles Lee (one of my personal favorite candidates), Adrian Griffin from Toronto and Chris Quinn from Miami were also named. Quinn has been a long-time assistant under Erik Spoelstra and is considered one of the rising stars in the coaching ranks.

Wojnarowski also named two former Weaver assistants at OKC in Chicago’s Josh Longstaff and Brooklyn’s Brian Keefe, names that are new to the speculation.

James Edwards III from The Athletic (SUBSCRIPTION) added Jerry Stackhouse, Kevin Ollie, Sean Sweeney, Jay Wright and current Pistons’ assistant Rex Kalamian to the list.

Detroit will act quickly to get their new coach hired as soon as possible so they can be part of the offseason plans. The NBA Draft Lottery is just over a month away, so the new coach will have to hit the ground running.