Report: Pistons preparing massive offer to former Suns coach Monty Williams

How much money will it take to talk Monty Williams out of taking a year off to decompress from his high-pressure playoffs failures with the Phoenix Suns?

$10 million per year? The Pistons sure hope so.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Detroit Pistons are preparing to offer former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams a contract worth up to $10 million per year to be their coach going forward.

Per a quick google search, that would make Williams the second-highest paid coach in all the NBA, just behind five-time NBA champ Gregg Popovich and ahead of four-time NBA champ (as a coach) Steve Kerr.

Here’s the top-paid NBA coaches for 2022-23, per Yahoo.

1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: $11.5 million

Five-time champ.

2. Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors: $9.5 million

Four-time champ.

T-3. Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers: $8.5 million

Fired. Had won a title in 2008 with Celtics.

T-3. Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat: $8.5 million

Two-time NBA Champ.

T-5. Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks: $8 million

Fired. Had won a title in 2021.

T-5. Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors: $8 million

Fired. Had won a title in 2019. His new contract with the 76ers to replace Doc Rivers (above) has not yet been reported.

T-5. Steve Nash, Brooklyn Nets: $8 million

Fired. No titles.

T-5. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: $8 milion

No titles as a coach. No Finals appearances either.

9. Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers: $7.25 milion

Won a title in 2011 with Mavericks.

10. Tyronn Lue, Los Angeles Clippers: $6.5 milion

Won a title in 2016 with Cavaliers.

If Monty Williams gets $10 million per year from the Pistons, he would become the second-highest paid coach of all time and one of only two in the top 10 (Jason Kidd) currently employed by a team without having won a title.

According to local insider John Gambadoro, Williams was fired with three years and $21 million left on his Suns contract. He’s now coached four years of the initial 5-year deal, so that means he got a two-year extension. Gambo says that extension came last summer, from former owner Robert Sarver.

Take a closer look at that Top 10 list. Four of the top eight highest-paid coaches in the NBA last year were fired this season, and only one has been hired by a new team (Nurse) so far.

It’s a “make and get fired” league for NBA head coaches. Lucky for them, their contracts are guaranteed, meaning they get paid the whole salary whether they get fired in the middle or not.

The Suns, meanwhile, are still deciding on their next coach, which reportedly is down to two high-priced options — Doc Rivers made $8 million last year and Frank Vogel made close to that with the Lakers before being fired a year ago — and one minimum-salary option. Lead assistant Kevin Young would likely get a deal in the $3 million per year range, at the low end of NBA head coach salaries.