Top Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Maurice Cheeks has emerged as the frontrunner for the Detroit Pistons coaching job and Yahoo! Sports is reporting a deal could be finished before the weekend ends.
Cheeks, who starred alongside Julius Erving and Moses Malone in bringing the Philadelphia 76ers the franchise’s last title in 1983, has had two prior coaching engagements, returning to coach the Sixers in 2005 and leading the Portland Trailblazers for four seasons beginning in 2001. He reached the playoffs twice in Portland ('02 and '03) and once in Philadelphia ('08) and has a career record of 284-286.
After firing Lawrence Frank at the end of the season, Detroit interviewed such candidates as Nate McMillan and former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer before settling on Cheeks as their consensus choice, according to Yahoo!.
Cheeks, has spent the last four seasons in OKC, where he is hugely credited with teaching young, star point guard Russell Westbrook how to play more under control and take better advantage of the skills of top-scorer Kevin Durant.
In Detroit, with a roster that features such young upstarts as Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond, management is hoping he may be able to have that same level of impact.
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