How Monty Williams will help Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey
Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are foundational pieces of the Detroit Pistons, who just hired coach Monty Williams to guide them to the next level.
Monty Williams spent most of his career playing small forward, as one would guess provided he was a 6-foot-8 wing with a knack for getting buckets who was drafted in 1994. He earned Honorable Mention All-American status while playing his college ball at Notre Dame, where he averaged 22.4 points and 8.4 rebounds during his senior season. When New York selected him with the 24th pick in the draft, they hoped they had acquired a building block for the future during what was actually a solid period of Knicks basketball.
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One of his most important jobs as the Piston with the whistle will be to develop Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. His playing experience is not a perfect port to the game the young duo displays out on the court today, but Monty Williams is up to the challenge, especially if the following quote from Devin Booker is given any weight.
"“He means everything. He’s a real one. He is one of those people that when you’re talking to him, he looks you directly in your eyes, and you feel everything he said.”"
Detroit Pistons: How Monty Williams will help Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey
It’s much bigger than just the sport of basketball. Williams likes to develop personal relationships, and all the basketball stuff is a bonus.
Booker’s comment might not address the X’s and O’s that the head coach needs to have mastery of in order to win at the level we all desire, but it does show that the 51-year-old isn’t too old to be out of touch with today’s players. Remember, Booker is debatably a superstar shooting guard for the Phoenix Suns who really blossomed under Monty’s tutelage. And we’re not just talking an improvement in shooting accuracy, although one can see positive upticks there.
Booker learned to be the focal point of an offense on a team that nearly won the NBA championship. Sure, having Chris Paul run the offense helped and the two formed one of the best backcourts in the league, but make no mistake – there was no Kevin Durant on that team, leaving Booker to be the 1st and sometimes 2nd option.
Can Williams find similar success with another talented backcourt?