Windhorst: Monty Williams Didn't Want Pistons HC Job; Insiders Felt He'd Sit Out Year

Monty Williams "didn't want" the Detroit Pistons job before ultimately agreeing to a record-setting coaching contract, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst reported Saturday on his Hoop Collective podcast (44:02 mark) there was a belief around the NBA that Williams would spend a year away from coaching after he was fired by the Phoenix Suns. Instead, Detroit offered him so much money he couldn't turn down the deal.

"I mean, the Suns were planning on paying him next year," Windhorst said. "All of these other teams knew that Monty was going to take care of his family and be with his family and take the year off."

"And it got to be so much money that the 'taking care of your family' inversed because it was like, 'Well, wait a minute, I want to do what's best for my family here but maybe what's best for my family is taking this freaking amazing offer.'"

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the 51-year-old will collect $78.5 million over six seasons. Per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, the total value can climb to more than $100 million if certain incentives and options are triggered.

The structure of the contract reflects which party held all of the leverage.

Williams is a former Coach of the Year with a .522 career winning percentage. The Pistons have posted a losing record for each of the past four years, none of which saw them win more than 23 games.

And while a young core that includes Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren creates some intrigue, this isn't a franchise on the cusp of a major breakthrough.

If Detroit wanted to bring in an experienced head coach to build a winning culture, it needed to pay a premium. In Williams' case, he was not only one of the strongest candidates on the market but also had the luxury of getting paid while he was unemployed.

Windhorst's report certainly doesn't reflect well on the general perception of the Pistons, but they may not care that much since they managed to land the coach they clearly coveted.