As the Detroit Pistons continue a summer of change, they’re reportedly interested in adding Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Sean Sweeney.
UPDATE: A report from EuroHoops.net suggests Sweeney will leave the Bucks for a new role in Detroit.
It seemed as if Sean Sweeney’s potentially uncertain future with the Milwaukee Bucks had been resolved once and for all when it was announced he was the sole holdover being retained for Mike Budenholzer’s new staff, but that may not in fact be the case.
Sweeney at least has the luxury of job security in Milwaukee, but there’s a possibility he’ll have options to take on a different role elsewhere too.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Detroit Pistons are making “a hard push” to add Sweeney to their staff under new head coach Dwane Casey.
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The Pistons have had an eventful summer so far, and still have more than their own share of unanswered questions.
Former 76ers executive Ed Stefanski was hired in a front office consulting role by Pistons owner Tom Gores earlier in the offseason, and in spite of no general manager or traditional top exec in place, Detroit have been pressing on with important decisions under Stefanski’s guidance.
Most notably that led to the hire of Casey, but it now seems as if the Pistons are going to press on with further shaping their staff without clarifying their front office position.
Whether a job in Detroit will be of interest to Sweeney remains to be seen. He’s certainly built up excellent relationships with players in Milwaukee and was respected enough to hang on to his job through a regime change, and of course, on a personal level there’s undoubtedly a lot to be said for not having to relocate to a new city.
The Pistons could offer Sweeney a different kind of opportunity, though. Although the staff in Milwaukee may be new, there will be an existing dynamic in place from Budenholzer and his assistants’ time with the Hawks and that may leave Sweeney’s voice holding much less influence than he’s used to.
On the other hand, in Detroit, Sweeney may be able to earn himself a role as a lead assistant or at least a position closer to that seat. Casey’s two most influential lieutenants from his days in Toronto won’t be joining him as Nick Nurse is the Raptors’ new head coach and Rex Kalamian has taken an assistant’s role with the Clippers.
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If Sweeney has aspirations of eventually progressing to be an NBA head coach, an approach from the Pistons may give him a chance to move up a rung on that ladder.