Monty Williams assembles impressive staff for Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are stacked with young talent as general manager Troy Weaver has made the most out of his all-too-frequent high draft picks as of late. Unfortunately, the common denominator for the Pistons was that former head coach Dwane Casey couldn’t seem to get the most out of the roster, injuries aside, and it became time to move on. Tom Gores knew what he needed to do when he opened up the checkbook, and he signed Monty Williams to the largest coaching contract in NBA history to help this young Pistons team progress.

With the new regime in Detroit officially underway and gaps to fill in his coaching staff, Williams has turned to those not only he is familiar with but names that fans are familiar with too.

Monty Williams assembles impressive staff for Pistons

When building out your coaching staff, it’s always best to look to those closest to you, and that’s precisely where Williams started. Holdovers from his former Phoenix Suns staff that changed the culture in Phoenix include Mark Bryant, Brian Randle, and Steve Scalz. While it’s not confirmed that Jarrett Jack will be a part of Williams’ team, he was present at the press conference, making it seem all but official.

The Houston Rockets let Stephen Silas go as the team declined his fourth-year option, making him one of the hottest candidates in the league in the assistant head coaching pool. During his three-year tenure with the Rockets, Silas finished with a 59-177 record. However, looking beyond the record, the Rockets have yet to get out of rebuild mode since trading James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, making anything more than a .250 winning percentage a tough ask. As the Pistons are still in the midst of a rebuild themselves, Silas should fit right in on Williams’ staff.

Former Philadelphia 76ers coaches Dan Burke, and Spencer Rivers (Doc’s son) were also added to the Pistons coaching team. Burke was the defensive coach during his tenure with the Sixers, and Rivers focused on player development. Both proved as areas of need for the Pistons last season. With such a young roster in Motown, player development was likely one of the highest bullet points on Williams. You would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable candidate than Rivers, who has been working with this year’s MVP, Joel Embiid.

Jamelle McMillian brings a wealth of knowledge from various roles, including learning from his father, Nate McMillian. Starting as a coaching intern for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2013-14 season, McMillian worked his way up to being named the head coach in the 2017-18 season. Since then, McMillian has been an assistant coach with the Suns, Pelicans (again), and most recently, the Atlanta Hawks. With a young team in their own right, the Hawks have made the playoffs in the previous three seasons, so adding McMillian to the Pistons coaching staff provides even more postseason knowledge and success.