For most of the past year with the Pelicans, Trajan Langdon watched Ron Holland for fun. With New Orleans slated to draft somewhere in the second half of the first round, Langdon admits he "really wasn't scouting high-end talent." But whenever he came across film of the G League Ignite, he enjoyed the challenge of "trying to understand how these young guys will translate" to the NBA. Then Langdon took over the Pistons. Suddenly, Holland was in play.
Langdon dove in on Holland over the last week, with the draft looming. And after several days of "film, intel calls and talking to our group, it led me to understand that this is the guy for us," Langdon said Friday at the Pistons Performance Center. Holland was sitting to his left. When he came to his feet a few minutes later, he made Langdon look small. This is what a wing looks like in the NBA, 6'8 and made of quick-twitch muscle.
"He can guard multiple positions, he has elite end-to-end speed, he attacks, he plays with force, he defends, rebounds and competes at a high level, and all of those one qualities, in one person, are hard to find nowadays, especially at 18 years old," Langdon said.
Langdon inherited a few pieces from the prior regime, but only one pillar in Cade Cunningham. Holland is his second. While Holland was seen as a fringe top-10 pick after a difficult season shooting the ball, Langdon didn't hesitate to take him fifth overall. Nor did he have to give much thought to how Holland will fit with the rest of Detroit's roster. He's only just begun assembling it.
"I think the fit had to be environmental and cultural more than position, not schematic," Langdon said. "The roster can change so much that looking for the precise fit right now, again, it could be a completely different roster here in two weeks. ... I think he has a chance to be the best player, ultimately, out of this draft."
In a draft light on top-tier talent, there were only so many players in that conversation. Langdon believes Holland belongs in it, the top-ranked high school player in the country a year ago who was once projected as the No. pick in this draft. In Holland, Langdon sees a player who's "going to impact this organization at a high level for a long time," at the outset of what looks like a long road back to prominence. This is no longer a restoration, but the restitution of a team to its city.
"There’s going to be good players (from this draft), but ones that can really elevate and impact both sides of the ball the way that I think he’ll be able to, I think there are very few," Langdon said.
The shooting concerns are real, depending who you ask. Holland brushes them off , "because I know what I’m capable of." Langdon acknowledges them, but only as a hurdle for Holland to clear with the help of Pistons new shooting coach Fred Vinson. Langdon plucked Vinson from the Pelicans and relied on him heavily during the draft process, a trusted voice in vetting shooters. In Holland, they see one who should get better and better.
"He impacts the game in so many other ways that I think are going to help us immediately, the shot’s going to come," Langdon said. "I don’t think he ever had fear shooting the ball, and I think having Fred here gives me a lot more — a lot less concern, how about that? — that it’s going to turn out."
Slowly, Langdon's plan is taking shape. He put another piece of it into action Friday when the Pistons acquired Tim Hardaway and his contract from the Mavericks, along with three-second round picks. That's good business for a team with loads of salary cap space and little free agent appeal, and a clear need for shooters -- the proven kind -- around Cunningham. And "that's the hope, that's the goal, that's the vision" for the rest of the summer, Langdon said.
"Continue to bring in shooting, IQ, some experience. And whether we do that through free agency or through bringing in contracts and adding assets, that’s how we’ll attack filling out this roster," he said.
The shooting aside, Holland looks like a winning player. He did a lot of losing last season with the 2-32 Ignite, which fuels his fire as he joins a team that started 3-32 last season itself. The Pistons have the most losses in the NBA -- and zero playoff wins -- over the last 15 years and are coming off the worst season in franchise history. Their fans have been robbed of the team they once knew.
For Holland, the pain of last season produced growth. He looked deep within himself during the team's struggles to identify where he wasn't doing enough, and how he could do more. As far as he came, he said he still has "a long way to go. And I feel like I’m at the spot to do it."
"With the guys here, it’s the same (situation), young talent, young minds, but really good players and I think I’m a huge part of why this franchise is going to turn it around. My winning mindset being here, I’m going to take things in the right direction," Holland said.
That will take time, to be sure. But Langdon sees Holland lifting the team from the jump, with his elite athleticism and instinctual play at the both ends of the floor. It's Holland's ceiling that's so appealing to the Pistons, who have taken their first shot under Langdon. Heads up if Holland finds his.
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