The Detroit Pistons are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the franchise's next head coach after moving on from Dwane Casey at the conclusion of the regular season. Casey, who coached the Pistons for the last five years, is moving into a front office position for the franchise after compiling a 121-263 record for the team during his tenure.
With Casey out, the Pistons have begun to fill out a list of potential candidates ranging from current assistants on title contenders to former college coaches. One of the top candidates for the role is Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Lee has been a candidate for several head coaching positions over the years, including most recently the Los Angeles Lakers job, which ultimately went to Darvin Ham who was also a former Bucks assistant. Lee has spent his entire assistant coaching career in the NBA under Mike Budenholzer, whose coaching tree is beginning to become extensive.
In addition to Lee, another notable candidate for the job is Kevin Ollie, per The Athletic, who spent 13 seasons playing in the NBA and won a national championship at UConn as the head coach in 2014. Ollie hasn't broken into the NBA as a coach yet, but his years of experience playing in the league, and his success at UConn should make him an appealing candidate for the position.
Other candidates the Pistons have also been given permission to interview are Toronto Raptors' assistant Adrian Griffin and Miami Heat assistant Chris Quinn. Griffin spent eight years playing in the NBA, and has since spent time with five teams as an assistant head coach including the Bucks, Bulls, Magic and Thunder in addition to his current post with the Raptors. Griffin is also being interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the Houston Rockets.
Quinn is also a former NBA player, who spent time playing overseas as well before beginning his coaching career. After spending a season as an assistant coach at the collegiate level with Northwestern, Quinn has been an assistant with the Heat since 2014.
The assistants that the Pistons are interviewing all come from teams with a track record of winning and strong team culture. With an incredibly young roster, bringing in a coach who can build a strong foundation is key for Detroit, who will once again have a high draft selection in June.
