“Rub People the Wrong Way”: Kenyon Martin Gives ‘Mark Jackson Reason’ Behind Monty Williams’ Firing

It was evident that the Detroit Pistons would be struggling to win games at the start of the season. They recorded the worst record in the league despite finding a cornerstone piece in Cade Cunningham to build their franchise around. So, a change in the structure was inevitable. Following the 14-68 record, the Pistons’ front office decided to fire Monty Williams. 

Debating what may have gone wrong within the Pistons organization, Kenyon Martin brought up the ‘Mark Jackson issue’ on Gil’s Arena podcast, “Rumor has it that Mark Jackson hasn’t gotten a job because of some of the religious things that he believes in, right? And he tries to force those things on other people. You can’t do that in certain environments.

Martin felt as if Williams might have forced his opinions on the players and staff just as Jackson tried to force his religious beliefs on others. He said,

 “I’m not saying that was what Monty(Williams) was doing. But his personality is that of—Cool, that’s what you are, that’s who you are but you can’t force that on people. And that same way in the locker room, certain things might rub people the wrong way, might rub the management the wrong way.”

The now-former Pistons HC was given a huge contract by the franchise after the Phoenix Suns fired him in 2023. He was given the keys to the franchise hoping to turn things around.

However, Martin stated that the coach’s beliefs might not have sat right with the team. It also could’ve been possible that the Pistons front office did not see eye to eye with what Williams’ plan of attack was for the next couple of years.

Gilbert Arenas made a strong point about how the team’s front office gave Williams the same roster as the year before when they were already struggling. Any new head coach would need time to understand and strategize how to improve the squad going forward.

The Detroit Pistons front office pulled the trigger on Williams before he could get a feel of what strengths and weaknesses lie in each player on the team. As Arenas said, “The fact that they paid him and fired him after one year says more about them(Pistons Ownership) than it does about him.” Moreover, his professional career has been a roller coaster ride recently.

Monty Williams’ struggles continue

Monty Williams has had a turbulent few years in the league the past few seasons. The 52-year-old coached the Suns to the number-one seed in the Western Conference in 2022. He played a huge role in taking them to the NBA Finals.

While Phoenix did lose eventually, Williams did a commendable job and was awarded the Coach of the Year honors for his efforts that season. Unfortunately, the Suns front office decided to fire the head coach, who took them to the finals and went on to form a ‘Big Three’ that did not even make it past the first round.

But things still turned out well for him as the Pistons offered him a six-year/$78.6 million contract to take over the helm. And just as Williams had finally got a sense of direction after one season of coaching, the franchise fired him within a year of his six-year contract.

Coaches getting fired in the NBA is nothing new. However, every now and then, there are some moves made by the team’s front office that end up baffling the entire basketball community. Releasing Monty Williams surely was one of those.