Pistons coaching rumors: Could Detroit foil the Lakers' plans?

The NBA coaching carousel got a new team yesterday when the Detroit Pistons fired head coach Monty Williams. 

This could throw a monkey wrench into some other team’s plans. 

It has long been rumored that JJ Redick was marked as the Lakers’ next head coach, same with James Borrego and the Cavaliers. 

But Trajan Langdon has connections to both, Redick as Dukies who also crossed paths in New Orleans and Borrego, who is currently the Pelicans’ associate head coach. 

Borrego has already been named a possible frontrunner for the Pistons’ job and according to Vincent Goodwill at Yahoo Sports, Redick could also be a candidate for the Pistons, though he may be too far into the Lakers’ process to be pried away. 

Redick is a polarizing name in the coaching ranks and would be a brave choice for Trajan Langdon in his first season as president. 

Detroit Pistons coaching rumors: Is JJ Redick really a possibility? 

It would be a bold move to hire a former player/podcaster/announcer who has no head coaching experience. 

But Redick is highly regarded around the league for his knowledge of the game and innovative ideas, the primary reason he is a candidate for other jobs even though he’s never coached a day in his life. 

For those afraid of a first-time head coach: those concerns are real. But the Pistons are fresh off hiring the most experienced coach on the market, which ended in the worst season in team history, so maybe a new approach is warranted. 

Redick has long talked about the idea of building a team organically and may relish the chance to do so in Detroit, where he would be a hero if it worked out. This would be his team, unlike the Lakers, which will always be LeBron's team until he retires or leaves.

He’d come in hungry and with a vision to execute, qualities Monty Williams was certainly lacking last season. 

He’d have the respect of the locker room as a former player who knows how to speak to guys that were recently his peers. 

He’s also young enough to build something substantial for the long term, similar to what Brad Stevens has done in Boston, though Stevens at least had head coaching experience prior to his move to the NBA. 

Redick knows what it means to be part of a successful program and he’s a guy who made the playoffs nearly every season of his long career. 

Would all of that translate to success as a head coach? The answer is anyone’s guess, which is why this would be a risky move for Detroit.