Trajan Langdon sat down for an in-depth interview recently and made it clear that the Detroit Pistons will continue to build around Cade Cunningham and continue to stay flexible financially in order to do it properly.
Langdon touched on a range of topics in his interview with Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (subscription), including gambling, though he was careful not to say too much about that topic, one that has interested me lately because of the way the Malik Beasley saga has been reported.
But prior to that he raved about Cunningham’s leadership and talked about how the Pistons’ locker-room chemistry was a big part of their success last season.
He also made it clear that they are going to continue to evaluate the players around him, stay flexible and make tough decisions if they need to be made. Here is what he had to say about staying flexible and avoiding bad contracts:
“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...If you lock into a player that you think is going to be at a certain level and he’s not, then it can go that way, too.”
We are seeing this play out in real time as Langdon tries to make crucial decisions on extensions for Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, a subject he wouldn’t talk about directly, but you can read between the lines.
Detroit Pistons: Building around Cade Cunningham means no bad contracts
Cade Cunningham is already locked into a max contract extension, but other than him, the Pistons have very few long-term obligations. By the summer of 2027, Cunningham will be the only player with a guaranteed contract, so the only thing the Pistons have committed to is building around Cade.
To be able to do that successfully, the Pistons must avoid overpaying, they must ensure that contracts and contributions match and that they remain flexible to improve as needed.
That starts with not rubber-stamping huge deals for Ivey and Duren, as Langdon clearly doesn’t want to get “locked into a player” that has not yet reached his ceiling.
Langdon’s vision aligns with the new financial reality of the NBA, which is that bad contracts kill rosters, so he won’t commit to anyone long term around Cade until he knows that player is a fit.