Pistons' Cade Cunningham Says Monty Williams Was 'Best-Case Scenario' as New HC
Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham loves his team's hire of Monty Williams as the new head coach, calling it a best-case scenario at Williams' introductory press conference on Tuesday.
"I thought it was best-case scenario," Cunningham said, per Duane Rankin of azcentral.
"I couldn't have been happier. Thought it was the perfect person for us and I was just excited for the team, for us to be able to learn from him and take it to the next level."
Williams has been a head, associate or assistant coach in the NBA since 2005. He just came off a four-year stint as the head coach for the Phoenix Suns, who parted ways with Williams after this season. The 50-year-old led the Suns to the Western Conference title in 2020-21 and the NBA's best regular-season record in 2021-22.
The young and rebuilding Pistons are coming off a 19-63 season. Afterward, head coach Dwane Casey moved to a front-office role, paving the way for the team to sign Williams to a record-breaking six-year, $78.5 million contract.
Williams could be a great fit for this team, which has exciting young talent led by Cunningham and is set to add another player with the No. 5 overall pick.
He's done great work with point guards in the past, namely veteran Chris Paul, who guided the Suns on the floor under Williams.
Cunningham could see great success with the coaching change.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft was limited to just 12 games last season after undergoing season-ending shin surgery, but he said Tuesday that he feels "amazing" and that if there was a game, he'd be ready to play. He has averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in his two seasons (76 games).
