The Pistons hired new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and moved on from former head coach Monty Williams this month, wiping the slate clean after a franchise-worst season. A year ago, the Pistons made Williams the highest-paid coach in the NBA at the time, circling back to him after he turned down their initial overtures. What followed was a year mired by injuries, plateaued development from the team’s young players outside of Cade Cunningham , and a lack of either spacing or a veteran presence on the team.
“After assessing everything, I really felt the best choice for the organization was a fresh start,” owner Tom Gores said during Detroit’s official introduction of Langdon on Friday. “Our mistakes in the past has nothing to do with just one person. We needed a fresh start and we needed Trajan to lead with a fresh start.”
According to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III , the Pistons were impressed by Langdon’s willingness to bring in people around him who could cover skills he wasn’t as well-versed in. With the organization reportedly seeking synergy, hiring Langdon was a good start, Edwards writes.
Both Gores and Langdon expressed the need for Detroit to be more aggressive in bringing in outside help during free agency this offseason.
“These young players, they need to play, but, yes, bringing in veterans who hopefully have a lot of know-how, some IQ and can shoot the ball, that’s going to be the target so that we can spread the floor and make it easier for the development of our young players,” Langdon said. “We’re going to look to do that, hopefully, through trade and free agency. That is how we’re going to attack this summer.”
Meanwhile, Gores expressed disappointment with how last offseason went and how it was one of the main mistakes the team made last year (Twitter link via Omari Sankofa II of Detroit Free Press).
“We have to have players who are active,” Gores said. “It’s not good enough to be a free agent, come over and not play.”
As for who will take over for Williams in the head-coaching role, Langdon said the search won’t take a back seat to the preparations for the draft and free agency. As we wrote on Thursday , the Pistons plan to interview former Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori. James Borrego has also been listed as a potential frontrunner and is expected to get an interview.
Here are a few more notable quotes from Friday’s presser via Edwards , Keith Langlois from Pistons.com and Sankofa :
Langdon on the draft:
“I think we’re going to get a good player at five. We like five a lot. We’re looking for the guy we feel has the best upside out of this draft and if that guy’s not there at five and there’s a team that’s willing to give us an asset value to flip back, then maybe that’s an opportunity, as well. But as of right now, our vision is not to be out of this draft. We want to draft a player and if we do flip back, it’s not going to be that far.”
Langdon on bringing in front office executives Michael Blackstone and executive J.R. Holden:
“Michael Blackstone … the thing I needed the most, especially coming into this situation, is a strategist, someone who really understands the cap. He has a big-time negotiating background and is very systematic and thoughtful in regards to what we need to from a roster and staffing standpoint.
“… J.R. Holden and I have a longstanding relationship from playing overseas. He understands what winning looks like and the culture and environment that we’re trying to create here. He’s cut his teeth here before with Stan (Van Gundy), in Philadelphia and the last five years in Brooklyn with Sean Marks.”
Gores on Langdon’s ability to turn things around:
“I’m extremely confident this partnership with Trajan is going to work. That it is going to turn our franchise around. The mistake of the past is thinking a magic bullet will just handle things. As Trajan said, it’s about the details. It’s about everyday leadership. Greatness is built on the details and you can’t skip those. So I’m extremely confident. Trajan’s into details and he has an ability to be strategic and have vision and then an ability to speak with people and inspire them.”
Gores on the franchise’s pecking order for decisions:
“Trajan is the boss. He’s the president of basketball. He can come to me, he can get recommendations from [chairman Arn Tellem]. One of the things we needed was that single source of decision-making and have that person really pull together everything so that we can make decisions.“