The Detroit Pistons officially got their coaching search underway yesterday when it was announced that they had set their first round of interviews.
Two other assistant coaches expected to factor prominently into the Pistons' process, per sources: Toronto's Adrian Griffin and Miami's Chris Quinn. https://t.co/g3d0wCdDML
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 14, 2023
Among the first candidates announced were Adrian Griffin, Chris Quinn, Charles Lee and Kevin Ollie.
Fan reaction to some of the names was predictably unhinged, full of hyperbolic statements and fatalism, which you would expect from a fanbase that has been subjected to so much losing.
Even though some of these fans had never heard these names before a few days ago, they are certain their guy is the right one and that the rest are the worst choices in the history of sports (seriously, someone actually said that to me).
Detroit Pistons’ coach: Which candidates stand out?
Predicting which coaches will be a success is a crapshoot at best, which is why we see the same names bandied about over and over again, as at least you know what you are getting.
Troy Weaver needs to get this one right, and already set some of his criteria as someone who can instill discipline, improve the defense and develop young players.
I would also add my personal criteria, which are that the person is not a re-tread who has already been a coach on 3-4 different teams but is someone who is young enough to relate to and grow with the players.
I would like a coach from a team with a culture of winning, who has spent at least some time coaching in the NBA, preferably on a team with a good defense.
With all of that in mind, two candidates of the ones named stand out.