Kofi Inkoom
The Detroit Pistons have chosen Trajan Langdon as their new President of Basketball Operations. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, they are starting negotiations to bring in New Orleans’ GM to lead the organization.
Langdon has spent the last five years as the GM of the Pelicans, working closely with executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. Prior to joining the Pelicans, Langdon served as an assistant general manager with the Nets under Sean Marks.
Langdon was drafted 11th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft, playing three seasons with the Cavaliers before finding success overseas.
He won two EuroLeague titles with CSKA Moscow in 2006 and 2008, earning multiple All-EuroLeague selections, the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award in 2008, and a spot on the EuroLeague’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.
Following his retirement as a player in 2011, Langdon transitioned to a front office role, starting as a scout for the San Antonio Spurs from 2012 to 2015. He has long been considered a future top decision-maker and was interviewed for the Pelicans’ top job in 2019 before joining Griffin’s staff.
After enduring a tough 2023/24 season with a 14-68 record, marking their fourth consecutive year near the bottom of the NBA standings, the Pistons announced in mid-April their search for a new president of basketball operations to replace Troy Weaver as the team’s top decision-maker.
Last week, Langdon emerged as one of the top contenders for the role, alongside Scott Perry, Dennis Lindsey, and John Hammond. Ultimately, Lindsey and Langdon emerged as the finalists, with both meeting with team owner Tom Gores multiple times in recent weeks before a decision was made.
According to reports, the Pistons considered over a dozen candidates during their search, including Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, who has the option to opt out of his contract with Minnesota this offseason. However, Detroit has chosen to move forward with Langdon instead of waiting to see if Connelly becomes available.