Trajan Langdon, Pistons betting big on Ron Holland

Ron Holland knew his range in Wednesday night's NBA Draft. He couldn't have guessed his destination.

"I never thought I would go 5th overall tonight," he said after being drafted by the Pistons.

Based on the teams who brought him in for workouts, Holland figured he'd go somewhere from picks Nos. 4 to 13. The Pistons weren't one of them, mostly because few agents had interest in pushing their players on an already young team without a coach or a clear vision, yet, under a new regime. But Detroit was purposefully quiet in Trajan Langdon's first draft. The club was waiting in the wings, which is exactly where they think Holland can thrive.

"There were a lot of agents that didn’t want to send their players here," Langdon said, like he wanted them to hear it. "And at the end of the day, staying quiet was a strategy."

By the end of the night, he liked how it worked out. And while Holland called it a "huge surprise" to hear the Pistons call his name, he said that after "being blessed with this opportunity, I can’t wait to get to Detroit and get straight to work."

There's work to be done on his shot. Holland is the full package, minus the skill that matters most in today's NBA. In Langdon's words, the 18-year-old "just checked a lot of boxes, except for shooting." That's an unsettling thought for Pistons fans, who know the downside to drafting raw, athletic wings who aren't natural threats offensively. Stanley Johnson, the former eighth overall pick, is long gone. Ausar Thompson, last year's fifth overall pick, has a long way to go. (Did Sekou Doumbouya ever even arrive?)

"I think he’s got one of the biggest upsides in this draft," Langdon said of Holland.

It was a draft short on sure things, and surefire shooters. The Pistons are desperate for the latter. Langdon, a former marksman himself, has every intention of addressing that via trade and free agency to support the team's one pillar in Cade Cunningham. It was also "our intention to find a player that we really liked" in the draft, he said. While the Pistons got calls on trading down, Langdon wasn't interested in potentially passing on a player he loved -- just to add more picks in a draft no one liked.

"We hired (assistant coach) Fred Vinson for a reason, so we can take chances like this on young players when shooting is the (missing) piece," Langdon said. "If his shot hits, he’s going to be a really, really good player."

Holland was once the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2023, with "a chance to evolve into the modern-day big wing that is so coveted at the highest level," according to 247 Sports . He was still the top-ranked player in the draft by national analyst and former NBA exec John Hollinger of the The Athletic, despite shooting just 24 percent from three last season for the G League Ignite -- who finished 2-32.

"The shooting, it’s really nothing I’m worried about," Holland said. "I know what feels good to me, I just need to continue to get reps. Once I get comfortable with this team, I’ll be able to be knocking down shots and helping the team win to the best of my ability. I’m not really listening to none of the shooting knocks, because I know what I’m capable of."

Holland did average more than 20 points a game last season, playing against grown men. Langdon raves about his competitive character and his high-end physical traits, including "elite size and athleticism for his position." At 6'8, he can get up and down as well any player in the draft, and might be the best one-on-one defender. Holland told the Pistons at the combine that he wants to guard the best player on the other team every night, and they think he'll be able to do it.

"I think I have a lot to learn in the NBA," he said, "but I definitely feel like can step on the floor right now and produce, defensively or offensively."

It's hard to know what Holland will be, without knowing what will become of his shot. The range of outcomes is wide, captured by three of the players he said he tries to emulate. The ceiling is Jaylen Brown, a three-time All-Star who just claimed Finals MVP with the Celtics. The floor is Jaden McDaniels, a long, lock-down defender and a starter on a very good Timberwolves team. In the middle is Mikal Bridges, an evolving force who was just traded to the Knicks in exchange for five-first round picks.

"The people that he compared himself to, those guys came in as defenders first and then they figured out their offensive game," Langdon said. "So he knows who he is, which I think is huge, to have that kind of awareness at 18 years old."

When he took the stage Wednesday night, Holland was wearing a gold chain with a pendant that represents energy. He said it's the trait that's defined him "since I was born." The Pistons need more of it after years of listless losing. He was also wearing a bracelet fill with diamonds, which is what Langdon hopes he's found in the rough of this draft.

"He’s going to bring a competitive edge to this team going forward, and I think it’ll be the type of player that this city can wrap their arms around," Langdon said.

The Pistons and their fans know the risk here well. Their new leader is betting big on the reward.