J.B. Bickerstaff, who was recently fired by the Cavaliers, has landed a new job with the Detroit Pistons as their new head coach. Bickerstaff, who guided the Cavaliers to two straight playoff appearances in his five years with the team, has a coaching record of 170-159.
This move marks the first significant decision made by Trajan Langdon, the Pistons’ new president of basketball operations. Langdon 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, which was the worst in franchise history.
Detroit’s third coach in as many seasons, Bickerstaff steps into a challenging situation as he takes over from Monty Williams. The team struggled under Williams, who led them to only 14 wins last season, which was the lowest in the NBA despite signing a lucrative coaching contract. Expectations were high for Williams’ performance, but the team endured a humiliating 28-game losing streak and set a league record for consecutive losses at home.
Bickerstaff will have an uphill battle ahead of him as he tries to improve upon Williams’ performance and lead Detroit out of their current slump. With only 20 NBA teams winning more than 21 games last season and Detroit being one of them, it is clear that Bickerstaff has his work cut out for him. We will have to wait and see if he can deliver more success than his predecessor and steer the team on the path to improvement.