Monty Williams has had much more than basketball on his mind of late.
When being introduced Tuesday as the new head coach of the Pistons, the former Suns coach revealed his wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer during the 2023 NBA playoffs, and how that impacted his decision to come to Detroit.
“The reason I bring that up is to not talk about the family, but to make it more of an emphasis that women need early detection testing,” Williams said. “We had genetic testing done and scan after scan, and we found it early. That might’ve saved my wife’s life and it might save others.”
Williams, who was fired by the Suns in May following a second-round playoff ouster to the now-champion Nuggets, contemplated taking time off from coaching to focus on his wife’s health.
Upon being contacted by Pistons GM Troy Weaver, Williams told Detroit brass he couldn’t take over because he wanted to tend to his family.
But when the Williams family received “great news” about Lisa’s situation, the wheels were in motion once again.
“We got great news that we would find out about her situation a lot earlier than we thought we would and out of the blue, I got a text from Troy after they had their pow-wow about me, which I thought was totally off the table,” Williams recalled.
The 51-year-old coach said it was the “patience” exemplified by Weaver and Pistons owner Tom Gores that ultimately got Williams to agree to a record-setting six-year, $78.5 million contract earlier this month.
“I talked to my wife (Tuesday) about whether we should talk about that publicly, but that was a huge part of my decision making and the patience that Troy and Mr. Gores had with me and with us as we navigated that told me a lot,” Williams said.
Williams’ historic contract also includes private jet access and additional health care benefits for his wife, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Gores spoke Tuesday about why Williams was so coveted by the organization.
“The thing about Monty, obviously he’s very proven and so on, but Monty is hungry, also,” Gores said. “He’s not resting on his laurels. We discussed that. He’s got a lot to prove. Just feel very fortunate to have Monty on board. We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s an exciting time for us and a big win.”
For a team that is coming off of their second-worst season in the organization’s history with a dismal record of 17-65, the addition of Williams — the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2021-22 — brings the Pistons a bonafide leader who has shown the ability to develop young talent and take them to new heights.
When Williams joined the Suns during the 2019-20 season, he took them from a 19-win season to 34 wins.
Williams demands accountability from his players and that leadership helped propel Phoenix to the NBA Finals in 2021 and the league’s best record of 64-18 the following year.
The Suns had early playoff exits in 2022 and 2023 before Williams’ firing earlier this spring.
Williams remarked Tuesday how his new situation in Detroit is similar to what he experienced in Phoenix.
“There’s similarities for sure,” Williams said. “When I look at the talent we have, I’m careful not to compare and place names on guys because I don’t want them to think they have to be a particular guy. I want them to be the best version of themselves in their unique way. When I got to Phoenix, there were some things that were similar. I’m not trying to redo that. That was there, this is now and we have a chance to restore.”