Monty Williams reportedly wants to take a step back, spend time with family and find his balance again after an unexpected firing by the Phoneix Suns.
The NBA coaching carousel may not give him much of a chance — teams are about to start knocking on his door, if they already haven’t. And there will be tempting options, including a title contender in Milwaukee, on that list.
It’s no surprise Williams is in demand. This is the man who took over a 19-win Suns team, had them in the NBA Finals in 2021 and was the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year. He could help teams and the three teams with current coaching openings — Milwaukee, Detroit and Toronto — are expected to reach out, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday.
On FanDuel, Chrania was a little more direct saying, “The Bucks will pursue Monty Williams from what I’m told, pretty aggressively. He’s near or at the top of their list after they fired Mike Budenholzer.”
Williams had at least three years and $21 million left on his contract with the Suns when they let him go, money he is still getting paid, so Williams is not under any financial pressure to take a new job. He can be picky.
It comes down to what does Williams want? If he wants to coach a contender again, with arguably the best player in the world on the roster in Giannis Antetokounmpo, the job is open and there. If he wants to be part of building something, Detroit could be an interesting place with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and whoever they land in the draft (that job could get a lot more interesting after the NBA Draft Lottery Tuesday night, where the Pistons have a 14% chance at the No.1 pick and Victor Wembanyama). There’s a lot of talent on the roster in Toronto as well.
If the Bucks aggressively push for Williams, it may be hard to say no to a ready-made contender.
However, it all comes down to what Williams wants. And that may just be some time to catch his breath.
