Sometimes it’s the moves you don’t make that make all of the difference, which has been the case for the Detroit Pistons this season.
Trajan Langdon kept the young core he inherited and complemented them with better veterans instead of breaking up the team, which many expected him to do when he took over as president.
He resisted the same urge at the trade deadline, when many were calling for him to make a big move to add another star next to Cade Cunningham. Instead, Langdon made a modest addition of Dennis Schroder, one that immediately paid dividends for Detroit.
The Pistons dodged multiple bullets, the first being Brandon Ingram, who was often rumored to Detroit but was instead dealt to the Raptors and never stepped on the floor, his modus operandi.
Another star who was long connected to the Pistons was Zach LaVine, who had been on the trade market forever and was finally dealt to the Kings in a desperation move that already looks like a disaster for Sacramento.
The Pistons dodged a bullet with Zach LaVine
There was no evidence the Pistons were ever seriously considering LaVine, but he’s a name we repeatedly heard in trade rumors connected to Detroit.
There were plenty of fans lobbying for him, and the idea was enticing, as he was having a career year in efficiency.
But one of the big knocks against LaVine is that he has never won anything, criticisms that are only going to get louder after his team got smoked in the first round of the Play-in by a shorthanded Dallas team that is missing Kyrie Irving.
The Kings were just 14-18 with LaVine this season and 26-24 without him, so he did little to quiet the critique that his game does not affect winning. LaVine has still only played in four playoff games (not counting the Play-in) even though he has put up numbers throughout his career.
That’s certainly not all his fault, but the Kings can’t feel great about his addition to the team after they were worse with him on it, especially when you consider he still has two years left on his deal at $47 and 48 million, which is going to hamper their ability to improve their wonky roster.
This is the exact disaster the Pistons avoided by staying clear of LaVine, who to be fair, was never a serious option and does not fit the profile of the types of guys Langdon targeted, as he misses too many games and doesn’t have much playoff experience.
As teams continue to navigate the effects of the tax aprons, avoiding bad contacts is going to be paramount to team building, so you can’t give a max deal to the wrong guy or trade for players on big contracts who are high risk.
Luckily, Trajan Langdon isn’t as impulsive as some Pistons fans, as he has his team in a good position for sustained success precisely because he was patient and didn't get lured by flashy names or quick fixes.