AUBURN HILLS, Mich. —  The Detroit Pistons have picked Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester (QUEUE'-ster) as their new head coach.

Kuester was on Larry Brown's NBA championship-winning staff in Detroit five years ago.

Pistons president for basketball operations Joe Dumars fired rookie coach Michael Curry on June 30. Curry led Detroit to a 39-43 regular-season record and a first-round playoff loss to Cleveland.

Kuester is the team's sixth head coach in the past 10 years.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ The Detroit Pistons have called a news conference to announce their new head coach, who's expected to be Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester (QUEUE'-ster).

The announcement will be made Thursday in Auburn Hills.

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the team was near an agreement with Kuester. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal wasn't done.

Kuester was on Larry Brown's NBA championship-winning staff in Detroit five years ago.

Pistons president for basketball operations Joe Dumars fired rookie coach Michael Curry June 30. Curry led Detroit to a 39-43 regular-season record and was eliminated by the Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.

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Sports Writer Larry Lage in Detroit contributed to this report.

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