The Pistons, finally, have a new leader. After a protracted search coming off the worst season in franchise history, the Pistons are set to hire Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon as their new president of basketball operations, according to ESPN.
Langdon will have the final say in all basketball matters in Detroit, and faces two big decisions off the bat: what to do with general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams?
Weaver was hired in 2020 and had his contract extended in 2022, but he has driven the Pistons into the ground. They are 170 games under .500 in his four-year tenure, and they just back-pedaled for the third straight year. Only one of his draft picks, Cade Cunningham, feels like a sure piece of the future -- and even that is up for debate. It will be up to Langdon whether Weaver sticks around.
Same goes for Williams, the highest-paid coach in the NBA who was signed to a historic six-year, $78.5 million contract last summer. Williams, who failed to put together cohesive lineups with the players at his disposal, bears as much blame for the Pistons' 14-68 season as anyone. If Langdon decides he wants a new coach, owner Tom Gores "will eat the rest of the money" on Williams' deal, according to The Athletic .
Langdon, 48, reportedly beat out Mavericks exec Dennis Lindsey for the job in Detroit. He helped the Pelicans build a strong roster under head decision-maker David Griffin, cresting in this year's team that won the second most games in franchise history and got key contributions from unheralded draft picks like Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III. Langdon was also assistant GM of the Nets when they found draft steals in Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen.
The Pelicans made equally strong trades during Langdon's tenure for players like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valančiūnas, an avenue that Langdon will have to use to get the Pistons back on track.
Detroit enters the offseason with $60-plus million of cap space and tradable assets in the No. 5 pick in next month's draft and young players like Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren -- maybe even Cunningham. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Langdon make a bold move.
Indeed, it feels like that's what he's here for. A proud franchise with three championships, the Pistons have been too bad for too long, last in the NBA over the last five seasons, the last 10 seasons and the last 15 seasons. They are in dire need of a jolt.
Maybe Langdon, a deadeye shooter known as The Alaskan Assassin during his standout career at Duke, is the man to bring them back to life.
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