Trajan Langdon mostly tinkered around the edges of the roster this offseason for the Pistons, but his additions did speak to his overall team-building philosophy.
The Pistons added or retained John Collins, Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter, Taurean Prince, Javonte Green and Ebuka Okorie.
None of these players are stars or even close to it, but they all have some things in common that reveal how Trajan Langdon wants to build a team.
Versatility, flexibility and fit with Cade Cunningham
Most of the players above have some level of positional versatility, particularly Collins, Prince, Huerter and Green, who can all play multiple positions.
Collins should give the Pistons the stretch four they need if they are going to play Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson at the same time, but they can also use Collins as a small-ball center to get maximum shooting on the floor.
Isaiah Joe is the only addition that is locked into position, so the Pistons have more versatility and options on offense.
Another thing these players all have in common is that they are on team-friendly deals that aren’t long-term commitments.
After next season, the Pistons will have 10 players on some sort of expiring contract, and they have one of the cleanest cap sheets in the league, even after they extend Duren and Thompson.
All of the additions are also better fits with Cade Cunningham than the guys they replaced, as Collins and Joe are far better 3-point shooters than their counterparts, as is Taurean Prince. Cunningham has never had this many shooters around him, and that is definitely by design after what we saw in the playoffs.
Ebuka Okorie will eventually provide some of the ball handling and shot creation the Pistons were also missing, and he’s another guy who should be a good fit with Cunningham down the road, either playing with him or coming off the bench.
If there is one thing Trajan Langdon made abundantly clear this summer, it’s that Cade Cunningham is the only real building block of this team and the rest are different levels of expendable.
Cade Cunningham is the foundation of the Pistons
The Pistons are likely to sign Duren and Thompson this offseason at some point, but the only player on the team that is truly untouchable is Cunningham.
Every move will be made with him in mind, and if big changes ever have to be made, it won’t be him that gets traded, similar to how the Celtics view Jayson Tatum, which made even a great player like Jaylen Brown ultimately expendable.
That’s how it’s going to increasingly work for teams that have superstars, as it’s easier to have one big contract at the top and fill in the rest with different tiers of deals, which is why Langdon values flexibility.
The Pistons may still land another star at some point, but having Cunningham allows them to choose their spot carefully and wait for the right time to pounce, as he makes team building and finding useful, value role players much easier.
Trajan Langdon values flexibility and fit with Cade Cunningham above all else, and he’s shown it this offseason.
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