Detroit Pistons Head Coach Transitioning to Front Office

After five years in charge, Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey is stepping aside. The 2017-18 NBA Coach of the Year announced that he will surrender head coaching duties and transition to a front office role.

Breaking: Dwane Casey is out as Pistons head coach, he announced. pic.twitter.com/JrSrqMa62N
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 9, 2023

Casey managed a very respectable 373-307 record over nine seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors before joining the Pistons in 2018, where he stumbled to a spectacularly terrible .316 winning percentage over his 383 games. That he held onto the head coach job as long as he did and still has a place in the organization speaks to the incredible respect he commands across the league and the rock-bottom expectations of the franchise.

In truth, the Pistons planned on losing. Coaching the team over the past few years has been a thankless task, but their years of tanking could pay dividends soon. They're guaranteed to finish with the NBA's worst record, which means they'll be the favorite to land the top pick in this year's draft. If they can nab French phenom Victor Wembanyama, and he can deliver on his singular promise, the Pistons could be a contender sometime soon.

Somehow, Casey appears to have won by losing. If the Pistons can land Wembanyama, all their gruelling toil over the past four years will be worth it, and Casey will have an opportunity to enjoy the fruits of his labor from a cushy spot in a luxury box. So long as the draft lottery breaks their way, of course.