Draymond Green doesn’t have much sympathy for former Detroit Pistons coach Monty Williams.
And there’s good reason for that.
Detroit fired the 52-year-old Williams after the team finished with an NBA-worst 14-68 record in the 2023-24 season, and he signed a then-record six-year, $78.5 million contract to become the Pistons’ coach a year later.
The Warriors forward spoke about Williams’ firing on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show” and tried to explain the meaning of Detroit’s decision.
“They hired him with the biggest contract in NBA history and then fired him the next year,” Green said. “They had him for six years and never even gave him a chance to actually build what they thought he could build.”
“It would be a mistake to think that just because you’re signing a six-year contract, everything’s going to change in the first year. It takes time to instill a culture. Culture isn’t built overnight.”
The Pistons are set to pay Williams about $65 million over the next five years in exchange for not overseeing the team, but Green believes this is a pretty comfortable position for Williams.
“Congratulations to Monty Williams, who was released by the Detroit Pistons after just one season,” Green added. “He’s going to go home and be with his family and make $65 million over the next five years without ever coaching the Pistons. That’s amazing.”
The flip side of good fortune?
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