J.B. Bickerstaff, who was recently fired by the Cavaliers after guiding them to two straight playoff appearances, has been hired by the Detroit Pistons as their new head coach. He will replace Monty Williams, who led the team to only 14 wins last season, the lowest in the NBA. Bickerstaff has a coaching record of 170-159 in his five years with Cleveland and steps into a challenging situation as Detroit’s third coach in as many seasons.
Trajan Langdon, the Pistons’ new president of basketball operations, took on the role after five years as the general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans. Together with Bickerstaff, they will be tasked with revitalizing the Pistons following a challenging 14-68 season, the worst in franchise history. The team struggled under Williams and expectations were high after he signed a lucrative coaching contract, but the team endured a humiliating 28-game losing streak, setting a league record.
Bickerstaff has an opportunity to improve upon Williams’ performance and lead Detroit out of the depths of the standings. With only 20 NBA teams winning more than 21 games last season, he will have to deliver more success than his predecessor if he wants to steer the team on the path to improvement. We will have to wait and see if he can rise to this challenge and turn around Detroit’s fortunes on and off
