DETROIT (WXYZ) — Wednesday afternoon, the Detroit Pistons introduced J.B. Bickerstaff as their head coach, with Bickerstaff and President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon speaking to the media.
WATCH: J.B. Bickerstaff introduced as Pistons head coach
"I'm excited to be here, excited to be a part of this," Bickerstaff said. "What this job comes down to for me is to be a partner and do something special. I believe in the people running the show and the young talent."
Bickerstaff mentioned that he was swayed to come to Detroit after conversations he had with Langdon and leaders in the organization.
"Had a great feeling that this organization was heading in the right direction and led by the right people," Bickerstaff said.
Bickerstaff was most recently the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, coaching eleven games in the 2019-20 season and four full seasons after that. Bickerstaff was fired by the Cavaliers after leading them to the Eastern Conference in the 2024 NBA playoffs.
Bickerstaff has a 255-290 record as a head coach in the regular season, and a 7-15 record in the playoffs. When the Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic earlier this spring, it was his first playoff series victory as a head coach. Before coaching with the Cavs, Bickerstaff had head coaching stints with the Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies, and has served as an assistant coach with the Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Charlotte Hornets. He's been coaching in the NBA since the 2004-05 season.
This is the first head coaching hire made by President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon, who was introduced earlier this month.
It's been a busy off-season for the Detroit Pistons, with perhaps the biggest news coming earlier this week,with former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham agreeing to a five-year, $224 million rookie max extension to stay in Detroit.
"I think he's a stud," Bickerstaff said of Cunningham. "I don't think there's a lot he can't do with his size, ability to see floor, ability to create shots. Our focus is making him one of the best two-way players in this league."
Under new President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon, the Pistons have clearly prioritized adding three-point shooting this off-season. Earlier this month, they signed forward Tobias Harris(36.8 percent career three-point shooter), shooting guard Malik Beasley( shot 41.3 percent last season) and re-signed wing Simone Fontecchio(42.6 percent on threes last season). They also traded with the Dallas Mavericks for former Michigan standout Tim Hardaway Jr. (41.8 percent). The Pistons also added some depth at the center position, acquiring center Paul Reedoff the waiver wire earlier this week.
The Pistons also parted ways with general manager Troy Weaver after four seasons and head coach Monty Williams after one season. The Pistons have announced the hiring of J.B. Bickerstaff to replace Williams, acquired forward Wendell Mooreand drafted forwards Ron Holland and Bobi Klintman in the NBA Draft a few weeks ago.
Towards the end of the presser, Langdon was asked where he feels the Pistons are at, in terms of what he wants to do, after a flurry of acquisitions, trades and draft picks over the last few weeks.
"J.B. and I talked about it today," Langdon said. "I actually told him I'm going to have a dinner with our front office staff, because what we've accomplished here in the 6-7 weeks we've been together, I'm incredibly proud of. It was kind of my vision of what we had coming in here and what our staff talked about, is that there was a lot that had to be accomplished over the last four weeks. And they had to believe and trust me and my vision and our staff's vision has really come together and (bought) into the stuff that we are trying to do. Sometimes intermixing new staff and intermittent staff together can be challenging, and it's pretty much been seamless with the group of people that have been here. I'm super excited about the group that we have and incredibly blessed about how they've come together over the past 4-5 weeks. To answer your question, I'm very happy about everything we've been able to accomplish in the time that I've been here."
For the latest news surrounding the Pistons this off-season, check out our tracker at this link.
