Even Monty Williams was reportedly shocked by the Detroit Pistons’ decision to fire him with $65 million remaining on his contract on Wednesday.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, “Williams was certainly blindsided today by the timing of his dismissal.”

Wojnarowski also initially reported Detroit decided to fire the coach and absorb the remaining money on his contract.

The timing is notable, as the Pistons now have to conduct a coaching search while they also prepare for the looming NBA draft and free agency. 

What’s more, the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers are much further along in their search for a new head coach, while Detroit will be starting from close to scratch.

Wojnarowski explained that much of the surprise from Williams’ perspective comes because he had recently been meeting.

With new Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon to discuss the future and potential offseason moves.

However, governor Tom Gores and team vice chairman Arn Tellem advocated for firing the head coach.

It’s not as if Williams found any success in his brief time with the Pistons with a league-worst 14-68 record that included a 28-game losing streak. That tied an NBA record for the longest regular-season losing streak.

Yet he wasn’t working with much in terms of roster construction either.

Detroit hasn’t won more than 23 games in any of the last five seasons and surpassed the 20-win mark just once in that span. It looks nowhere near contending status even with a potential franchise cornerstone in place in Cade Cunningham.

Williams’ time with the Pistons was a far cry from his prior four-year run with the Phoenix Suns when he went 194-115 with three playoff appearances and a spot in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Perhaps he will find more success and longevity at his next stop because it didn’t happen with the Pistons.

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Source: Los Angeles Times