How Does Monty Williams Firing Impact The Cavaliers Coaching Search?

The Pistons parted ways with Williams after just one season at the helm.

Apr 12, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams looks on during the game against the Dallas Mavericks American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports / Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA offseason is full of surprises and one of the biggest ones came down on Wednesday with the announcement that the Detroit Pistons have fired head coach Monty Williams after just one season at the helm.

The 52-year-old head coach is still owed $65 million of the unprecedented four-year, $78.5 million deal he signed last offseason. At the time, reports indicated Williams had been reluctant to take the Pistons job after being fired by the Suns. He wanted to take a hiatus from basketball, particularly as his wife battled breast cancer. When Detroit brought him an offer he couldn't refuse though, he accepted the job and spent this past season coaching a young Pistons team to just 14 wins.

ESPN Sources: After one season, the Detroit Pistons have dismissed coach Monty Williams — who leaves with five years and $65M-plus left on his deal. New President Trajan Langdon will move to make his own coaching hire now. pic.twitter.com/QHKivQS5o2

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 19, 2024

And so, suddenly the Pistons join the Cavaliers as the only teams in the market for new head coaches. Detroit may be late to the party on the process of hiring a head coach, but they're sudden insertion has a chance to create some waves in Cleveland.

First and foremost, with Williams now available there are likely to be plenty of thought given and debates had over whether or not the Cavs should consider pursuing the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year. Understandably, Williams is certainly a well-respected figure around the NBA, which is why he was so coveted by the Pistons last offseason.

Having taken the Phoenix Suns to the NBA Finals just two years back, his resume certainly speaks for itself. He was an organization builder in Phoenix, taking a young team that – at the time – hadn't yet proven much to the precipice of a championship. Had the Cavaliers parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff last offseason, Williams could have been a legitimate option for them to fill the void.

Perhaps one year later the Cavs brass has some interest in Williams, which would certainly throw a wrench into their coaching search. Cleveland is reported to be down to their top three candidates with Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego leading the pack, with Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori still in the mix.

To add Williams would prolong the process even further, which may not be something Cleveland can afford to do. The draft is just over a week away – something president of basketball operations Koby Altman used as a soft deadline for naming the next head coach. Plus the Cavs have the pending Donovan Mitchell extension situation to think about as well. Unless Mitchell is really pounding the table for Williams, backtracking could wind up costing them the potential best fit for their star guard, assuming he's planning on signing the extension.

That brings us to perhaps the biggest ripple to come out of the Williams firing. With the Lakers reportedly closing in on hiring J.J. Redick as their next head coach, Cleveland was the only team still looking for a head coach mere hours ago. In that reality it could have taken its sweet time in makiing a selection.

Now, the Pistons, led by new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon, step into the picture and speed up the Cavs timeline of choosing a coach. That's because Langdon just came to Detroit after spending five seasons as a general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans under former Cavaliers executive David Griffin. Borrego truly is Cleveland's top candidate, they're likely to have some competition now, given the natural relationship between him and Langdon.

All things considered, the Cavs job is likely still the more attractive of the two – so long as Mitchell is staying. It's naive to underestimate the power of relationships around the league though. In fact, it may even give Langdon an upper-hand in landing him, particularly if the salaries are similar.

Altman has been adamant that he and his staff didn't want to rush into a decision, but the Cavaliers live in a different reality now. The winding soap opera that is the NBA offseason is suddenly all about Cleveland.