Trajan Langdon had a tall task ahead of him when he took over as team president of the Detroit Pistons.
The previous regime was a shambles, as Troy Weaver was bad at pretty much every part of the job, including drafting, effective use of cap space and trades.
Year after year he failed to surround his young players with any veteran talent, going from one salary dump to another without even garnering much in the way of assets. After four seasons of being the worst team in the NBA, the Pistons still OWE a draft pick, so Langdon took over a bad team without many assets to get out of it.
He rightfully showed patience, adding veterans to the roster, collecting a few much-needed draft assets and biding his time until he knows what he has in these young players.
Two of the moves he made in the offseason are already paying dividends for the Pistons, while another looks like a classic Troy Weaver maneuver, which is not a compliment.
The Tobias Harris signing looks good for the Pistons
I wasn’t super excited about Tobias Harris if I am being honest. His time in Philadelphia didn’t end well and I just didn’t think he was worth a huge deal. Luckily, the Pistons didn’t have to give him one, which changed my view of the Harris signing, as he can still play and will be a trade asset when he is on an expiring contract a year from now.
I can’t tell if Harris looks good because he’s the first fully functional NBA player the Pistons have had in years or if he’s actually good. Either way, he’s an upgrade from the veterans the Pistons have had in the last three seasons.
Harris is not great, but he’s a functional NBA player on both ends and it’s already shocking how much difference that makes. He makes the right plays, actually tries on defense, is efficient in shot and movement and can carry the Pistons’ offense at times when other players are struggling.
Harris is going to make a difference to the young Pistons and will hopefully build up more value while he’s doing it, as Detroit will be in a position to trade his expiring contract in a package for a star player.
The Harris signing looks like a good one for Detroit and at the very least, isn’t going to hurt them.