J.B. Bickerstaff will be the next head coach of the Detroit Pistons replacing the one-and-done Monty Williams.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pistons signed the former Cavaliers coach to a five-year deal after beating out Mavs assistant Sean Sweeny who reportedly made a good impression on the team.
Bickerstaff emerged from a field of several candidates to land the job under new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon. Bickerstaff ushered the Cleveland Cavaliers through a rebuild, winning 99 regular-season games over the past two seasons. He led Cleveland to the Eastern Conference playoffs in consecutive years — including a conference semifinals berth this year. The Cavaliers dismissed Bickerstaff after the season, hiring Kenny Atkinson.
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Bickerstaff’s run in Cleveland this past May also included securing the team’s first non-Lebron series win since 1993 beating the Orlando Magic in seven games. Bickerstaff took over the Cavaliers from former Michigan head coach John Beilein at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign and remained in the role for five seasons.
Now, the 45-year-old Bickerstaff assumes control of a Pistons team that made plenty of history in 2023-24. That included not only the worst recording in the NBA but the worst record in franchise history at 14-67 after hiring Williams to a then record-setting NBA deal for a head coach. However, the good news for Bickerstaff is the team still has roughly $50M in cap space this offseason and a young core that includes former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham as well as other young pieces like Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and the recently drafted Ron Holland.
