The Detroit Pistons are methodically conducting the search for their next head coach after moving Dwane Casey to the front office.
They have arranged interviews with several of the top assistants around the NBA, as well as guys like Kevin Ollie, who comes from Overtime Elite.
Reports have Ollie, Charles Lee an Jarron Collins as the early frontrunners, but the Pistons aren’t going to rush things, as this is a decision they have to get right.
There was one glaring omission from the list in Ime Udoka, who many believe is the top available candidate after he was fired from Boston for misconduct earlier this year.
Although early reports indicated that he would be a candidate for the Detroit Pistons, he was never interviewed and now the point is moot anyway, as he has agreed to take the opening with the Houston Rockets:
ESPN Sources: Ime Udoka has agreed to a deal to become the next Houston Rockets coach. pic.twitter.com/xhcDRDfnNJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 24, 2023
So why wasn’t Udoka ever considered by the Pistons?
Detroit Pistons: Ime Udoka off the coaching market
At this point, everyone is aware that Udoka was fired from the Celtics for breaking team rules about inappropriate relationships with subordinates. But many seemed to miss the part where he made “unwanted advances” and used “crude language” in front of staff according to reports.
So this was more than just a consensual affair, and details are still emerging, so it’s possible the Detroit Pistons just wanted no part of that drama around their young team, and I can’t blame them.
I also can’t blame them for not hiring a guy who was just fired for such conduct without a thorough investigation of their own, as the Detroit Pistons employ a lot of women and what type of message would that send to them?
This is also a team that has talked A LOT about building the right type of culture, so again, I can’t blame them for not wanting to look like hypocrites by hiring Udoka.
There are plenty of qualified candidates that don’t come with this kind of stuff on their resume.
Udoka is a popular name among fans because they know who he is and he did have success in his one year in the league as a head coach. Of course, Boston was a team ready to win and they had even more success (in the regular season) without him this year.
In the end, the fit wasn’t there for one reason or another and the Detroit Pistons decided not to even pursue Udoka and instead focus on candidates that Troy Weaver is more personally familiar with.
The Pistons may not have been comfortable courting controversy onto a young team that still needs to establish its identity and credibility, but whatever the reason was, Udoka is not going to be coming to the Motor City.