High pay, low tide: NBA's top-paid coaches sink to the bottom

Gregg Popovich and Monty Williams have certainly earned their keep to be coaches in the NBA but are not having it great in the ongoing season.

A quick look at the standings will reveal how Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs and Williams’ Detroit Pistons are bottom-scraping in their respective conferences, with 3-19 and 2-21 records, respectively.

Interestingly, the coaches occupy the top two spots in the highest-paid list for the 2023-24 season, which beckons the question — What is the matter with these teams?

This year was supposed to see a sea-change in San Antonio after down years in the previous seasons, with the arrival of rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama.

After going 3-2 in their first five games, the Spurs lost their last 17 games heading into the match against the LA Lakers on Wednesday.

‘Wemby’ continues to be steady with 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.2 steals. But obviously, the rest of the field has gotten past the initial awe it had of the towering Frenchman and now sees him as just one of the denizens of the league that need to be conquered.

The other members of the squad have not consistently stepped up to put the team in a position to win, making it difficult for San Antonio.

Over in Detroit, a concerning slide is currently in effect, with the Pistons losing 20 straight games ahead of their matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

Guys like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and rookie Ausar Thompson are having a decent season but the rest of the team has not delivered as hoped, making it hard for them to fully soar.

Highest-paid NBA coaches not delivering from their end?

Of course, Popovich and Williams are not without their faults with how their teams are performing.

‘Pop,’ who is the highest-paid coach this season at $16 million, has not done a good job so far at piecing things together for his team, belying his lofty standing as a five-time NBA champion coach.

Granted, the team is still in rebuilding mode even with Wembanyama in tow, but to lose this much and with no signs of further improvement is just disconcerting for a proud NBA franchise like San Antonio.

Williams, for his part, joined the Pistons to try to turn things around in the Motor City. He is earning $13.1 million this season.

Unfortunately, his tenure in Detroit has been as rough as it could get. He is still finding his way with the team he has, which at the moment is resulting in more misses than hits.

He said he aims to create an environment where they can grow. While it is ideal, some consistency in winning would not hurt, right?

Good thing for Popovich and Williams, there is still time in the ongoing NBA season to turn things around. And given what they have done in their coaching careers, it is safe to say that the Spurs and Pistons will remain patient with them for the time being.

But, of course, one can only take so much losing, and the faster they address the situation they are in, the better for them.