After James Borrego's withdrawal, there were still two in the running to succeed Monty Williams: JB Bickerstaff And Sean Sweeney. Finally the new president, Trajan Langdon, chose the most experienced since ESPN announces that Bickerstaff will be the new coach of the Pistons.
Cut by the Cavaliers, he proved that he was both a trainer to develop young people (Okoro, Garland, Mobley, etc.), but also a coach focused on defense and Detroit really needs that. In Cleveland, his record was very good: 99 victories over the last two seasons, and constant progression since his arrival since the franchise went from 13th place in the Eastern Conference in 2021 to 4th in 2024. It is under his control that the franchise won its first playoff series without LeBron James since… 1998!
In Detroit, the task is even bigger since the team is still coming off the worst season in its history, and the management did not hesitate to fire Williams, even though he had signed for six years 12 months earlier.
