The Detroit Pistons are hiring New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon to be the franchise’s new president. The news comes weeks after the Pistons have been promising to bring on a new president of basketball operations to oversee everything in the organization. As the president, Langdon will reportedly have a ton of power to do anything he wants within organization.

New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon to the Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have confirmed to a bunch of publications that Trajan Langdon will be the new head of the team’s front office. Among the outlets confirming the news are the experts at ESPN, the Athletic, the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

ESPN says that Langdon will have “sweeping power to make changes to the organization and set a course for the franchise’s future.” His hiring comes at a desperate time for the organization. Detroit only had 14 wins last season. It was a record for the franchise, but a record low of wins, so not a good record.

Trajan Langdon hails from the Pelicans, where he’s been their general manager for the past five years. That wasn’t his first gig, either. Before joining the Pelicans’ staff, he was the assistant GM of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2019.

So, what kind of record does Langdon have with the Pelicans? It’s pretty good. The Pelicans tied their second-best record in franchise history with a 49-33 record this season. They fell as the No. 8 seed in the first round of the playoffs.

Many Pistons fans were hoping the team would wait for Minnesota Timberwolves head executive Tim Connelly to be available. Connelly is currently busy with the Timberwolves being in the NBA playoffs. They could go all the way. It’s not clear whether the Pistons simply didn’t want to wait for Connelly and instead lock someone in weeks before the oh-so important NBA draft or if Connelly just wasn’t interested. But, they’re not going with Connelly. At least Langdon has a decent record with his current team.

Something that puts Langdon ahead of other candidates is that he has strong general manager experience. While the Pistons have a general manager in Troy Weaver, the team has a poor record under his time with the team. Weaver joined the Pistons in 2020, and they’ve had some of their worst seasons since then. I’m not saying it’s Weaver’s fault. It’s not. There is a perfect storm of stuff happening with the Pistons that have caused the them to falter so much. But, it will be helpful to have someone with extensive general manager experience.

Overall, I think it’s a good pick for the Pistons. Let’s face it: It’s difficult to get anyone to want to come to Detroit, since the Pistons are such a poor team right now. So, to have someone who has current experience as a general manager in the NBA is huge. I’m grateful he wanted to come here, and I hope he does some good things. I also hope he keeps Monty Williams as the head coach, who has only been with Detroit for one season.