Former Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says wife was diagnosed with breast cancer during NBA Playoffs

New Pistons head coach Monty Williams opened up about dealing with a personal matter while coaching the Phoenix Suns at his introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon in Detroit.

Williams said his wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer during the NBA playoffs.

“The reason that I bring it up is to not to talk about my family, but to make it more of an emphasis that women need early detection and testing,” he said. “We had genetic testing done and then scan after scan after scan and then we found it early and that may have saved my wife’s life and it can save others.”

Williams said that played a major role in the process of taking the job as he thanked Pistons team owner Tom Gores and general manager Troy Weaver for their understanding.

“I had a situation in my family that needed personal attention,” Williams said. “I talked to my wife (Tuesday) about whether we should talk about that publicly, but that was a huge part of my decision making and the patience that Troy and Mr. Gores had with me and with us as we navigated that told me a lot.”

Williams, 51, told Weaver and Gores he couldn’t take the job when initially offered because of his wife’s situation.

“As we navigated all of that, in talking to Troy and telling him, man, I couldn’t right now because I got to take care of my family,” Williams said. “And then we got great news that we would find out about her situation a lot earlier than we thought we would and out of the blue, I got a text from Troy after they had their pow wow about me, which I thought was totally off the table.”

Williams said he was at his kid’s tryout when receiving Weaver’s text. Williams lost his first wife, Ingrid, to a car accident in February 2016.

“All of that was on my plate,” Williams said. “Losing a job, family situation and then being dad, traveling with my kids and doing a few things and out of the blue, I get the text from Troy, and then it went quickly after that.”

The Suns fired Williams after losing Game 6 of the West semifinals to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets by 25 points in Phoenix under new team owner Mat Ishbia.

Williams admitted still having a connection with Phoenix.

“I’ll always look at that as a special place in my history as a coach and as a person,” Williams said. “Before I went to Phoenix, I was viewed a certain way. That experience has allowed for me to be here. So for me to sit here and say that I’ve moved on, that’s just not the case. I love those people there. I’m grateful for what they did for me and my family.”

Williams had just agreed to a multiyear contract extension with Phoenix in July 2022 before being let go within a year after that.

“When you get fired, it doesn’t mean it has to be contentious or there has to be silliness that goes with that,” he said. “I don’t believe that and yet, when somebody shows this kind of confidence in you, it gives you confidence to move forward with them in a cool way. That doesn’t mean that I have to diminish that situation or that organization.”

Detroit hired the 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year, making him the highest-paid head coach in NBA history with a six-year, $78.5-million deal.

“The thing about Monty, obviously he’s very proven and so on, but Monty is hungry, also,” Gores said. “He’s not resting on his laurels. We discussed that. He’s got a lot to prove. Just feel very fortunate to have Monty on board. We’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s an exciting time for us and a big win.”

The salary certainly played a role in his decision as Williams considered taking off a year from coaching.

“The quick answer is Troy, the players and (pause) the money,” Williams said. “That’s something that we don’t talk about. They always say it wasn’t the money. I always laugh at that. I think that’s disrespectful when somebody is that generous to pay me that kind of money, one, that should be applauded and two, that should be talked about.”

The Pistons are coming off their second-worst season in franchise history at 17-65. They last had a winning record in 2015-16 at 44-38, but Williams likes the talent on the current roster and was amazed to see the entire team attend the press conference other than Bojan Bogdanović.

“It messed me up this morning in the meeting when I found out all you guys were here,” Williams said in his opening statement. “You’ll find out that I get emotional over good stuff like that and I’m so grateful to all of you guys being here and I’m grateful to have dogs like you in the fight with me. I hope you understand that.”

The press conference started more than 30 minutes after its 1:30 p.m. PT scheduled start time, but Williams arrived wearing a suit and sounded eager about the start of his third head coaching run with a team that last made the playoffs in 2019 with a 41-41 record under Dwane Casey.

“I could go and on with the gratitude I have in my heart for this opportunity to be in this position,” Williams said. “Across the board, everybody here has embraced me and made me feel like I’ve been here for a while and I thank you for that. This is a true blessing for me and my family and we will make you proud.”

Mark Bryant and Jarrett Jack attended the press conference as they were assistants under Williams in Phoenix. Williams said former Rockets head coach and longtime NBA assistant coach Stephen Silas will be his lead assistant.

“I think he’s someone that will call me up when I get off track,” Williams said about Silas. “I think he’s somebody that can relate to the loneliness of the head coaching position and so he’ll be somebody that I lean on for a lot along with the other members on the staff.”

The Suns hired Williams in May 2019 to turn around a team that had their second-worst season in franchise history at 19-63 in 2018-19 and hadn’t made the playoffs since 2010.

He proceeded to coach them to the 2021 finals off the momentum of an 8-0 bubble run in his first year in Phoenix. The Suns then posted their best record in franchise history at 64-18 in 2021-22, but they fell to the Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals by 33 points.

Phoenix entered this year’s postseason a fourth seed, but one of the favorites to win a championship after trading for Kevin Durant right before the Feb. 9 deadline. The Suns instead lost to eventual NBA champion Denver in the West semifinals, dropping elimination Game 6 at home by 25 points. The No. 1-seeded Nuggets were up 81-51 at halftime.

Williams compiled a 194-115 record in his four seasons in Phoenix. The Suns reached the playoffs their last three seasons under him, but went 0-3 in playoff elimination games, losing the last two to Dallas and Denver at home before sellout crowds at Footprint Center by a combined total of 58 points.

So, Williams has great success in Phoenix, but fell short of winning a championship after expectations were raised following the run to the 2021 finals and acquiring Durant during the 2022-23 season.

The Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn for T.J. Warren and Durant midseason.

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams says wife was diagnosed with breast cancer during NBA Playoffs