Ron Holland considered it "a huge surprise" to be drafted by the Pistons, who hadn't hosted him for a workout and hadn't been in contact with him ahead of draft night. They nevertheless took him No. 5 overall, after doing significant background work on the athletic wing from the G League Ignite.
"We did a really deep dive the last several days on Ron, just understanding the compete level, the human being," said new president of basketball ops Trajan Langdon. "Talked to several of his teammates and understood the care factor, the work ethic."
The Pistons had also sat down with Holland at the combine, and loved what they heard . As for not bringing him in to Detroit, "there were a lot of agents that didn’t want to send their players here," Langdon said. "And at the end of the day, staying quiet was a strategy."
The reticence of those agents can be understood. Even Holland said he had
a workout scheduled with the Pistons, "but didn’t end up doing it." The team has yet to hire a head coach and establish a clear vision under a new regime -- led by a rookie president -- and its roster is already full of young players who need minutes.
All that said, Langdon felt comfortable lurking in the shadows Wednesday night. No one really had a bead on what the Pistons would do. Langdon did field several trade calls from teams eyeing Detroit's pick, but was careful not to broadcast his interest in Holland. While most outsiders considered Holland a borderline top-10 pick, Langdon saw "one of the biggest upsides in this draft." He wasn't going to get jumped in line.
"There were a lot of calls yesterday, today, leading in, from several teams behind us, and that was another reason why I went dark. I just didn’t want anything to get out," Langdon said. "You talk to an agent about who you like and all of a sudden they start talking (to other teams), so that was a strategy by us, especially with all of the trade talk."
In an idea world, Langdon acknowledged, the Pistons would have been able to move back, pick up an asset and still land Holland. But he wasn't willing to miss out on a player he loved just to land an extra pick or two in a draft no one particularly liked.
"We’re very, very happy getting Ron at our pick this year, he said. "It was our intention to find a player that we really liked. We didn’t want to move back and get a player that we didn’t like while gathering assets in the draft. That was definitely something that we thought about in the process, not only into the draft but also when we were on the clock."
With about $65 million in cap space entering free agency, most in the NBA, the Pistons have plenty of flexibility to take on contracts to acquire future picks. And Langdon intends to use it if and when the right offers arise.
"We’re getting calls already on some things, but we’re looking for future assets more than assets in the draft right now," he said. "We’ll be thoughtful and process-oriented around those that we take in. I don’t think it’s going to be something we jump on right away if we don’t think it’s the right asset value that, again, helps bolster the growth of our young players."
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