Report: Bucks, Pistons, Raptors to pursue Monty Williams
The Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors are interested in former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Williams has $21 million remaining on his contract from Phoenix and is focusing on spending time with his family, Charania adds. The Suns fired Williams on Saturday after four seasons.
The Bucks recently fired bench boss Mike Budenholzer following a first-round exit to the 8-seed Miami Heat. Budenholzer coached Milwaukee in its 2021 championship run, when the Bucks defeated Williams' Suns squad in the NBA Finals in six games.
The Pistons and Dwane Casey mutually agreed that Casey would step into a front office role after five campaigns as head coach, with no playoff appearances over the last four.
Toronto, meanwhile, fired Nick Nurse after losing in the play-in tournament. Nurse fits what the Suns are looking for, Charania reports. He won a championship with the Raptors in 2019.
Williams accumulated a regular-season record of 194-115 (.628 winning percentage) with the Suns and won Coach of the Year for the 2021-22 campaign. He helped lead Phoenix to a Finals appearance in 2021, the franchise's first NBA Finals since 1993.
The veteran coach previously spent time with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant. Williams' first head coaching stint was with New Orleans from 2010-15.