J.B. Bickerstaff has agreed on a five-year deal to become the next coach of the Detroit Pistons, sources told ESPN on Sunday.
Bickerstaff emerged out of a field of several candidates to land the job under new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon. Bickerstaff ushered the Cleveland Cavaliers through a rebuild, winning 99 regular-season games in the past two seasons. He led Cleveland to the Eastern Conference playoffs in consecutive years – including the conference semifinals this year. The Cavaliers dismissed Bickerstaff after the season, hiring Kenny Atkinson.
The Pistons will be Bickerstaff’s fourth head coaching job, including stops in Houston, Memphis and Cleveland. Detroit let go of coach Monty Williams after a league-worst 14-68 season, his first year of a six-year, $78.5 million contract. Ownership moved on from general manager Troy Weaver and Williams, bringing on Langdon who has charted a course for a deliberate rebuild that’ll fit well with Bickerstaff’s experience with the Cavaliers.
Langdon has been aggressive in gathering up front office and coaching talent in recent weeks, hiring Mike Blackstone and Dennis Lindsey in his front office and now moving quickly to land Bickerstaff out of a field that included Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney, who made a strong impression in the process, sources said.
The Pistons are hoping to sign former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham to a long-term contract on his rookie extension and are prioritizing the use of their salary cap space to take on veteran contracts strapped with future draft picks.
After replacing John Beilein as interim coach in 2020, Bickerstaff had a 170-159 (.517) record in five seasons with the Cavaliers. Cleveland was the Eastern Conference’s fourth-seed with a 48-34 record, beating the Orlando Magic in an opening-round, seven-game series. Boston defeated Cleveland 4-1 in the conference semifinals while the Cavs were without center Jarrett Allen and All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell was forced to miss the final two games with a calf injury.