After a disastrous season, the Detroit Pistons fired general manager Troy Weaver on Friday. according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Weaver was reportedly offered an outside scouting position as he has time left on his contract, but he turned it down.
This is the first step to new team president Trajan Langdon as he begins to shape the future of the franchise.
Charania adds that New Orleans Pelicans vice president of basketball administration Michael Blackstone is being considered as a possible replacement to work under Langdon.
A 2023-24 season to forget
The Pistons finished with a 14-68 record during the regular season, the worst in the NBA. The 2023-24 season lows included an NBA-record 28-game losing streak after winning two games in October.
They eclipsed the NBA’s longest streak in a single season at 26 games, achieved by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers also lost an all-time record 28 consecutive games during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Weaver was hired in June 2020 after a 10-year stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder in multiple capacities, culminating as vice president of basketball operations. During his four seasons in Detroit, the Pistons went 74-244 for a .303 winning percentage. Their best result in that span was in 2021-22, when they won 23 games.
Weaver inherited a roster without a franchise star to build around. During his tenure, the Pistons had four consecutive lottery picks highlighted by Cade Cunningham, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft.
Detroit also drafted Killian Hayes (No. 7 in 2020), Jaden Ivey (No. 5 in 2022) and Ausar Thompson (No. 5 in 2023).
With the 2024 NBA Draft approaching, the Pistons have the No. 5 overall pick despite having a league-best 14% chance of winning the lottery and selecting No. 1.
At the end of the 2022-23 season, head coach Dwane Casey resigned and moved into a front office position, allowing Weaver to make his first head coaching hire in Detroit. Weaver selected former Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams and rewarded him with a six-year, $78.5 million contract, with a two-year team option that would exceed $100 million. Weaver and Williams had a relationship stemming from their time in Oklahoma City.
The Pistons last won a postseason game in 2008 and last made the playoffs in 2019.
