J.B. Bickerstaff is expanding his coaching staff. According to a report from Shams Charania on Friday, the new head coach of the Detroit Pistons has hired Luke Walton as his lead assistant.
Walton's coaching career includes a stint as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played for nine years and won championships in 2009 and 2010. He led the team for three full seasons (2016-19) before taking the helm at the Sacramento Kings for parts of three seasons (2019-21).
He later joined the Cleveland Cavaliers, also working under J.B. Bickerstaff.
J.B. Bickerstaff hiring a familiar face in Luke Walton
Walton was an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors from 2014-16. In the 2015-16 season, he served as interim head coach for 43 games while Steve Kerr recovered from back surgery.
Under Walton's guidance, the Warriors achieved a 39-4 record and set an NBA regular-season win record with 73 victories.
After his stint with the Warriors, Walton was hired by the Lakers as a first-time head coach. During Walton's three-year tenure with the Lakers, the team had a 98-148 record. After his time with the Lakers, he was hired as the head coach of the Kings, where he won 68 games in just over two seasons. Overall, Walton holds a 166-241 record as a head coach.
The Cavaliers terminated J.B. Bickerstaff on May 23 and brought in Kenny Atkinson as his replacement on June 24. Subsequently, the Pistons subsequently appointed Bickerstaff on June 30 to take over from Monty Williams, who was let go by Detroit on June 19.
More new coaches for the Detroit Pistons
The Pistons are also bringing Kevin Burleson on board as an assistant coach. Burleson spent an 11-year playing career primarily overseas before transitioning to coaching around seven years ago.
Burleson began his coaching career as a player development coach for the Houston Rockets from 2014 to 2017. Afterward, he joined the Minnesota Timberwolves' G League team as an assistant coach before transitioning to the NBA as an assistant player development coach under Bickerstaff with the Memphis Grizzlies.
He later returned to Minnesota as an assistant coach with the NBA team. Since 2022, Burleson has served as the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G League affiliate for the Rockets, known for its strong reputation in player development within the NBA.
It was also reported that Sidney Lowe would join J.B. Bickerstaff’s coaching staff with the Pistons, marking his fourth stint with the team. Lowe previously worked alongside Bickerstaff in Cleveland. His history with the Pistons includes playing six games for the team in 1984, a season as an assistant under Flip Saunders in 2005-06, and a recent tenure on Dwane Casey’s staff from 2018 to 2021.
The Pistons also added Fred Vinson to their coaching staff even before hiring a head coach. Vinson brings over a decade of experience as an assistant with the New Orleans Pelicans, where he worked with Trajan Langdon.
Last season, the Pistons had nine coaches on their staff. As of now, only six are named: Bickerstaff, Walton, Lowe, Burleson, Jack, and Vinson. The final size of the coaching staff has yet to be determined.
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