Pistons fire Monty Williams with $65 million remaining on his deal

A year ago, Tom Gores wouldn't accept no from Monty Williams. Now he's showing him the door.

Gores and the Pistons have fired Williams, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, on the heels of the worst season in franchise history. Gores lured Williams to Detroit last summer with a six-year, $78.5 million contract that made him the highest-paid coach in the NBA after Williams had rebuffed the Pistons' initial overtures.

The Pistons proceeded to lose 28 straight games almost as soon as Williams' tenure began.

While Trajan Langdon is the new president of basketball operations -- and the primary shot-caller -- for the Pistons, "the decision to fire Williams now was made at the ownership level," according to Wojnarowski. Williams will leave Detroit with about $65 million remaining on his deal.

The move opens the door for Langdon to hire his own coach in his first year on the job. One candidate that the Pistons "will strongly consider," according to Yahoo! Sports , is Pelicans associate head coach James Borrego, who overlapped with Langdon last season in New Orleans.

Borrego, who was also head coach of the Hornets from 2018-22, has already interviewed with the Lakers and Cavaliers for the head coaching vacancies.

The Pistons also parted ways with former GM Troy Weaver earlier this month.