Building and developing the team’s young core remains the top priority for the Pistons, president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon told The Athletic’s Hunter Patterson.
Despite their surprising resurgence last season in which the Pistons — who had the worst record in the league in 2023/24 — made the playoffs, Langdon didn’t feel this offseason was the right time to make a splashy move for a big-time player.
Langdon planned to re-sign Malik Beasley before the sixth man was investigated as part of a federal gambling probe. Langdon then pivoted in free agency, signing Caris LeVert and acquiring Duncan Robinson in a sign-and-trade. He also re-signed backup big Paul Reed.
Langdon opted not to trade away any of his young regulars for a star-level player.
“We want to see what those guys’ ceilings are. It’s continuing to put players with them that can continue to help them grow, develop and reach their potential,” Langdon said. “That’s one thing we try to be as cognizant as possible of, which is something at times that can be challenging. Of course, you want to continue to get better, but we’re very aware of what the timing of that is. We want our guys to continue to develop and at least get close to their ceiling or potential. Then maybe at that point is when we realize, OK, what is the proper player fit for these guys when it’s time to really go?”
Once Langdon and the Pistons can assess how those young pieces fit, they’ll have a better idea what kind of player can lift the team to a higher echelon.
“I don’t think we truly understand who our players can be at this point,” he said. “I just think it’s too early for us to truly understand what the best way to press the proverbial gas pedal is right now. So, we’re gonna try to be patient with that and let our young guys continue to develop.”
Here’s more from Patterson’s interview with Langdon:
On potential rookie scale extensions for Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren:
“I’ll never speak to that. We’re happy to have them as Pistons, and we’ll continue to help them be the best possible versions of themselves and reach their potential. I thought (Duren) had a tremendous year last season, especially in the second half when we made the run. And (Ivey) got off to a great start before getting injured. We’re excited to have them both back at the start of this season.
On Cade Cunningham‘s leadership:
“He uses his voice well, in terms of holding them accountable and driving them in the right direction when he needs to. He’s also very supportive of them and allows them to be who they are as human beings, but also as basketball players.”
On not having any long-term commitments beyond Cunningham’s extension:
“Having optionality with your group, that’s all it is at the end of the day. You can’t predict how your team’s going to be from year to year. You want to make sure that if it’s going well, you can continue. Or, if there’s a way that you can get better, you want to be able to pivot. That’s how it is with us and not getting locked into something that you can’t get out of if it doesn’t go well. That’s always a difficult thing, for every team, for every organization, for every decision maker, because you can go either way. If you have a really good player that you don’t lock in long-term and then he leaves … well, that’s on you.”
Hopefully, they can stay relatively healthy this season and take the next step and Trajan will look to bring in a bigger name to team with Cade for the beginning of a championship contention window. After last season, I’m definitely excited to see if they can take the leap and win some big games in the postseason.
They should figure a way to get Malik back. He was a huge part of their success and I’m a big Levert fan, but you can’t count on him. He’s way too inconsistent. Excited to see Jaden Ivey. He was a fun player when he was on the court and healthy.
Waiting to extend the young guys is the right move for the organization. You can evaluate them for another full season, let their contracts expire, use cap space to fire big at whatever piece you don’t have and then use their bird rights to extend everyone who has earned it. You open your window and take your shot for 4 years.
As a Bulls fan, I will forever hate the Pistons. But as a NBA fan, the Detroit Pistons being back into the spotlight and competing for something important is GREAT for the league. Tons of talent, a great GM, and a players’ coach with a no nonsense type of mentality and accountability.
Future is extremely bright in MoTown and who knows with the east being so weak, they could possibly get all the way to the ECF? All it takes is one freak injury, sadly.