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.
The Malik Beasley signing was a steal
Beasley hasn’t shot the ball well in preseason, but he has a history of being one of the best high-volume shooters in the NBA, so I wouldn’t worry too much about games that don’t matter.
His presence alone changes the offense, as teams have to respect him from behind the 3-point line, which has already opened up the offense. We’ve seen the Pistons run sets that they never could have last season, with Cade Cunningham starting possessions in the mid-post and either getting to the rim or running pick-and-roll with Duren.
Last season, a possession starting in the mid-post would have immediately been triple teamed, as that’s where all the defenders were and no one was chasing the shooters flying around on the weakside. With more space, Cade Cunningham already looks like a guy who could be top-5 in assists per game this season.
Beasley gives effort on defense and at least knows where to be, which sadly, is an upgrade from last season.
He’s on a lowball $6 million contract and will be one of the most coveted shooters at the trade deadline because of it. I am hoping the Pistons are competitive then and keep him instead, but the Beasley signing was a great deal for the Pistons either way.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is a waste of money
I wasn’t happy about this move when the Pistons made it and am even less so now. If the Pistons had just taken THJ’s expiring on for three second-round picks, fine, but they sent back a decent player in Quentin Grimes, which made absolutely no sense, as the Mavs were desperate to get off THJ’s deal.
I feel like the Pistons should have gotten more.
I pivoted when thinking, well, maybe THJ can still play and will be energized by playing in front of his hometown fans. So far, not so much, as he is 1-of-16 from 3-point range and has been awful on both ends.
This is the kind of move Troy Weaver made every year, and when you are in the early stages of a rebuild it makes sense. But the Pistons are trying to get out of that mode, so why waste $16 million in cap space that could have been used for.....wait for it.... SIGNING A GOOD PLAYER WHO HELPS THE TEAM WIN GAMES! (sorry for the caps).
Who knows, maybe THJ will rebound from this horrific start, as he does have a long career of evidence that he can shoot a basketball. But right now, this looks like Joe Harris 2.0, a guy who is eating up a sizeable chunk of cap space to sit on the bench.
I rationalized this by thinking the Pistons could flip him for more second-round picks at the trade deadline, and maybe they’ll be able to, but if not, they wasted a roster spot when they could have upgraded their depth.
It’s only preseason, so it’s too early to write off a guy who has had a long, successful NBA career, but right now this move isn’t looking great for Detroit. We’ll have to hope that Trajan Langdon finds a player with one of those second-round picks, and he does have a history of doing just that.