Dwane Casey’s run as head coach of the Detroit Pistons came to an end following the team’s 103-81 road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. Casey announced after the game that he has stepped down as Pistons head coach, but he will remain in the organization, as he is set to move into a role in the front office.
“It's been a good 44 years,” Casey said after the Pistons' regular season finale. “Tom's giving me an opportunity to move into the front office to work with Troy.”
The Pistons are now on the lookout for a new head coach, and they reportedly already have an eye on a few coaches who could fill the vacancy.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, early candidates for the Pistons' head coaching job include the likes of Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn, and former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. Wojnarowski adds that Pistons general manager Troy Weaver is “expected to talk” to Bulls assistant Josh Longstaff and Brooklyn Nets assistant Brian Keefe regarding the opening.
Out of these six coaches, only Udoka has head coaching experience in the NBA. Udoka served as Boston's head coach in the 2021-2022 season, and he led the team to an appearance in the NBA Finals. He was later handed a season-long suspension by the team after an internal investigation uncovered that he was having an alleged inappropriate relationship with a Celtics staffer.
Detroit is not the only team that has been linked with Udoka. The Houston Rockets are reportedly also showing an early interest in Udoka after they parted ways with Stephen Silas on Sunday.
The Pistons capped off their campaign with a 17-65 record. They have missed the playoffs in each of the past four seasons.
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