Pistons news: Detroit reportedly adding big man “savant” to staff

Phoenix Suns center JaVale McGee (00) talks with assistant coach Mark Bryant Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Phoenix Suns center JaVale McGee (00) talks with assistant coach Mark Bryant Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Detroit Pistons are going to have a completely new look on the bench next season.

They already landed the big-name head coach in Monty Williams, who made adding Stephen Silas as his lead assistant a top priority. Silas, who was previously the head coach of the Houston Rockets, will help coordinate things on the offensive side of the ball.

But according to a report by Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Williams could hire as many as three more coaches soon.

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The first is Dan Burke, one of the top defensive minds in the game, which would be a nice get for the Detroit Pistons, as he has led some of the best defenses in the NBA over the last 20+ years as an assistant.

Jarrett Jack, an assistant with Williams in Phoenix, is also a top candidate according to Fischer.

And the final coach mentioned was Mark Bryant, who is also very familiar to both Monty Williams and Troy Weaver.

Pistons news: Possible assistant coach Mark Bryant

Mark Bryant is the definition of an NBA journeyman, as he played for 10 different teams in a career that spanned from 1988-2003. The man has been around and in that time played for a long list of great coaches including Rick Adelman, PJ Carlisimo, Rudy Tomjanovich, Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown.

After his career he immediately went into coaching as an assistant for the Dallas Mavericks, before heading to the Magic, then Supersonics/Thunder and finally as an assistant under Monty Williams with the Suns, so he’s been in the NBA in some capacity for over 35 years.

Troy Weaver is familiar with Bryant from his time in OKC, so he knows exactly what he can bring to the team. Bryant is known for his work with big men including guys like Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Domantas Sabonis and Deandre Ayton, earning him the nickname “Big man savant” (SUBSCRIPTION) in NBA circles. Sounds like the perfect guy to mentor the Pistons wealth of young bigs.

If the Pistons were to hire Burke and Bryant they’d have one of the most experienced benches in the NBA, a sign that they are serious about winning soon and want to turn the franchise around after an abysmal 17-win season.

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