Detroit Pistons Hire J.B. Bickerstaff as Head Coach

J.B. Bickerstaff has found a new coaching home, within the division of his old team.

Bickerstaff will be moving a couple hours east as he has reached an agreement to become the new head coach of the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It is a five-year deal for Bickerstaff.

The 49-year-old spent the last four seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and from 2017-2019 was the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. In Memphis, Bickerstaff was 15-48 in his first year but led the team to an 18-game improvement in year two. In Cleveland, he guided the Cavaliers to a 22-game improvement from 2020-2021 to 2021-2022, and won 51 and 48 games in the last two seasons. The Cavaliers made the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past spring, losing to the eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics in five games.

Bickerstaff inherits a young team of a franchise that has not made the playoffs since 2018-2019. The Pistons won just 14 games in 2023-2024 and only 17 in 2022-2023, both league worsts. The Pistons do have a very talented young guard (a potential star) on the rise in Cade Cunningham, and fellow pieces Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren. It will be up to Bickerstaff to get the most out of the young group and guide them forward, a team with great potential.

Bickerstaff takes over for Monty Williams, who was let go by new General Manager Trajan Langdon after signing a six-year contract prior to last season.