Joe Dumars wanted a head coach with experience. Instead, he landed longtime assistant coach, John Kuester who has zero games as an NBA head coach under his belt. That's not to say that he isn't an experienced coach, though. He has over 20-years of NBA coaching on his resume, just was never a head coach before.
Today, the Pistons coaching staff gained even more experience as Joe Dumars and the Pistons named former head coach, and most recently New Jersey Nets assistant, Brian Hill to be one of John Kuester's assistant coaches.
Via MLIVE:
Officials in Detroit and New Jersey confirmed Friday that Hill, who has been an NBA coach for more than 23 years, which includes a trip to the NBA finals (1995 with Orlando) as a head coach, will join Detroit's staff for the 2009-10 season.
"Brian is going to Detroit," Nets team president Rod Thorn told the New York Post. "He is a terrific coach and a better guy. Solid all the way. He did a great job and we hate to lose him. His coaching credentials are impeccable."
Hill is a close friend of Kuester's and really wants to help him in his new journey as an NBA head coach. Hill will be able to share his experiences as head coach, most notably his successful stint with the Orlando Magic. Hill is currently the Magic's most successful head coach in franchise history, having gone 191-104 from 1993-1997. I'm not sure what that exactly says about Hill -- he did have Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, and Orlando hasn't had a coach last longer than four years in their short, 20-year franchise existence. Regardless of Hill's value as a former head coach in the NBA, he still brings years and years of coaching experience to the table to add to Kuester's. He will undoubtedly be a valuable resource as Kuester learns the ropes
